Avoiding the Night
by daisylove10
Summary: I laughed humorlessly. “Bella doesn’t want me, Harry. I would know.” He shrugged. “I guess, Jake. She probably doesn’t even know it yet. But I do.” A different take on the Twilight series, starting after Bella is left in the forest. Bella-Jacob.
1. Abandonment

Avoiding the Night

This story picks up in New Moon right where Edward leaves Bella in the forest. It pretty much follows at least the timeline of New Moon, although there are some definite changes; for instance, Bella never hears voices, and actually endeavors to give Jacob a chance. And not just a pity chance. She starts going out during the day, and starts avoiding the night.

A/N: This is my first fic, so please be nice! I'm kind of afraid of what everyone will say… However, I'd rather have bad reviews than no reviews at all, though, so please tell me what you're thinking!!

Also, I don't own Twilight, or anything else that cool. Too bad.

Chapter One: Abandonment

BPOV

"_Alice is gone?" My voice was blank with disbelief._

"_She wanted to say goodbye, but I convinced her that a clean break would be better for you."_

_I was dizzy, it was hard to concentrate. His words swirled around in my head, and I heard the doctor in Phoenix, last spring, as he showed me the X-rays. "You can see it's a clean break", his finger traced along the picture of my severed bone. "That's good. It will heal more easily, more quickly"._

_I tried to breathe normally. I needed to concentrate, to find a way out of this nightmare. _

"_Goodbye, Bella," he said in the same quiet, peaceful voice. _

"_Wait!" I choked out the word, reaching for him, willing my deadened legs to carry me forward_

_I thought he was reaching for me too. But his cold hands locked around my wrists and pinned them to my side. He leaned down, pressed his lips very lightly to my forehead for the briefest instant. My eyes closed._

"_Take care of yourself," he breathed, cool against my skin. There was a light, unnatural breeze. My eyes flashed open. The leaves on a small vine maple shuddered with the gentle wind of his passage._

He was gone.

I woke up to the rain falling on my face. I could hardly breathe; after crying myself to sleep and lying on a mossy, damp bed for hours upon hours, my allergies were bothering me. Maybe it was more due to my will to survive fading.

I knew it was pathetic. I knew a person couldn't actually die from heartbreak, but maybe if I stayed in this cold forest long enough, I would eventually die, and the doctors would see my tearstained cheeks and my puffy eyes and just figure that's what killed me.

Lying on the cold, wet ground, I thought back to mere weeks ago… watching Romeo and Juliet with Edward, him breathing all of Romeo's lines into my ear during the movie, putting the widely accepted prince of romance to shame. Where did it all go? How did everything go so horribly wrong?

I was drawn unexpectedly from my anguished reverie by the sound of a very large animal moving in the nearby brushes. "Edward.." I whispered, before dissolving into tears once again, for the millionth time tonight.

He was gone.

Suddenly, the sounds changed. It sounded more like footsteps, and for one-millionth of a second, I thought he came back to me. It only took me that long though to realize that if he were to come back, he'd be in front of me before I heard him.

"_Bella."_

An unrecognizable voice was speaking my name. Despite my unhappiness, I peered up curiously into the drenched forests.

"_Have you been hurt?"_

Oh, where to begin. I tried to say no, but then realized that it wasn't true. Maybe this strange man was like a T-Rex, and if I didn't move he'd go away and find someone else to ask personal questions.

"_Bella, my name is Sam Uley."_

Okay…?

"_Charlie sent me to look for you."_

Charlie! The name sparked a tiny flame of hope in my heart. Perhaps all wasn't lost… Charlie still loved me! Maybe if I went home and cried to him for a while, I would feel better and perhaps not still have puffy eyes whenever Edward came back for me.

Of this I had no doubt. He would come back. Although I never understood why Edward loved me so much, he certainly seemed to, and after a while, I had become so thoroughly convinced of the fact that it was hard to imagine anything else. I would hold onto hope for as long as it took.

Even though I hadn't responded to any of his inquiries or statements, Sam Uley seemed to decide it was time to take matters into his own hands. Picking me up easily, he ran out of the forest, seeming to know exactly where he was going. How did he run so fast without getting out of breath? I'd never run anywhere near that fast, and the timed one-mile run in gym class had always been the bane of my existence.

I suddenly heard voices; he had taken me into a large group of people. It seemed that a search team had been deployed in my absence.

"Bella!" I heard Charlie's voice from across the crowd. In the next second, I was being carried into my house by my father. He didn't seem to possess the ease of carrying a soaking wet girl that Sam Uley had.

For me, the rest of the night was lost in self-pity. I vaguely noticed being examined by a doctor, multiple questioning phone calls, and hushed discussion about the departure of the Cullens from Forks. I didn't really care; I just kept replaying the scenes from the last few weeks in my head over and over, desperate to keep some small part of Edward in my life.

* * *

JPOV

_They were gone? The Cullens had finally left Forks?_

I didn't share the same hatred against the Cullens that my father and the "La Push" gang seemed to, but when you're in love with a girl like Isabella Swan for the greater part of your life and her seemingly perfect boyfriend suddenly vacates her life, you get a couple butterflies and your heart does a little victory dance.

Why did they hate the Cullens so much though? I had heard the legends, but as far as I was concerned, I just figured that the people on the reservation were just jealous. I mean, the Cullens were friggin' rich. The tiny sister with short hair has a Lamborghini, for Christ's sake. I was jealous too; our house looks like a little rustic cabin, and my car is… not functioning. No reason to hate a whole family, though.

"Jake!! Get your ass in gear or you'll miss the party!" Embry was all pumped up for the "Departure of the Cullens Bonfire". He didn't even know the Cullens, but if there was gonna be an event with food and possibly girls, he was all over that.

"I'll be there soon!" I hollered back. I guess I'd make an appearance. I wonder how Bella's doing?

She had been in the back of my mind since I had seen her on the beach with all of her friends last year. Now that she was single…

_Snap out of it, man. She probably needs a friend. She loved him._

Well, maybe I would work on that. Nothing would be happier than being friends with Bella Swan… I mean after all, "Love is friendship caught on fire", right?

* * *

A/N: Well that's it, my first chapter!! I'm working on the second one right now, but please R&R so I can know how I'm doing! Thanks!


	2. Realization

Avoiding the Night

A/N: I'm writing this chapter right after I finished the first, so I am currently reviewless. I hope that I am not continuing a story that no one cares about, but I think this story could go somewhere, so please read and enjoy! Sorry the chapters seem to be short, I'm kind of getting off to a slow start. I also promise this chapter will be better formatted than the last.

Chapter Two: Realization

BPOV:

I woke up and rolled over to look at the time. 6:30. _Ugh, too early to get up, even on a school day._ I had been waking up early recently; unsurprising since I had been going to bed much earlier than I ever had when I was with Edward.

_Edward._ Thinking his name caused a strange tingle in my chest. I sat up in bed and looked at the calendar. _January 25th. _

I couldn't believe that time had passed so quickly since he had left. I had spent the first couple months moping around and generally annoying Charlie with my sulky demeanor. Suddenly, around November I realized that he was gone for good. I had gotten no telephone calls, no postcards, not even an old-fashioned telegram to merely let me know that he had found happiness somewhere else. I guess not hearing from him for so long told me all I needed to know. He was gone, and he was happy.

The couple months after that could only be described as _grey_. I wasn't nearly as mopey as I had been the months immediately proceeding his family's departure, but I threw myself into school in the hopes of acing all of my classes and going to college next year somewhere far away from Forks and all of the memories it held.

This had worked like a charm; I was pleasant enough to Charlie, so he wasn't seriously worried about me, and it kept my mind off of… my last boyfriend, but I had lost most contact with the friends I had before. Many of them didn't even look at me anymore. I didn't mind too much most of the time, except today I was feeling kind of lonely. Not only had I finished all of my homework, but I had also asked for extra assignments to prepare me for the College in High School tests, and I had finished that too.

It was time for me to make a big step in my new life—going out with friends.

"Hey Charlie, I think I'm gonna go to the movies tonight." I said flippantly as I passed him on the way out the door later. Somehow I had managed to waste all that time in the morning primping. Maybe I thought if I looked presentable, my friends would forget that I hadn't really been present the last few months.

Charlie looked up in surprise. "Oh, really? With whom, may I ask?"

_Shit, Bella. Think fast._

"Probably Jessica or Angela. They've been dying to hang out with me, but I've just been so busy. I'll call you after school and let you know."

This wasn't entirely untrue; during the first few weeks of my absence from their lives, my friends had tried really hard to get me back and do things with me. They danced around the subject of Edward, and politely tried to interest me in things outside of schoolwork and books. I had not complied, and now they just kind of ignored me most of the time.

Charlie tried to hide the excited look on his face and failed miserably. He had been trying to get me to hang out with friends for a while. He was worried that my constant state of studying would take me to some prestigious college on another continent.

"That's great Bells! See you whenever you get home!"

In the car on the way to the movies with Jessica later, I thought back over my day.

All in all, it hadn't gone too badly. My friends had been surprised to see that I had a smile on my face and some of them actually responded favorably. Angela was really excited to talk to me again, and accepted me back into her friends as if nothing had happened at all.

Some of my other friends, however, were a little more reticent. Mike, for example, seemed to take it personally that I didn't talk to him for so many months and _still_ didn't want to go on a date with him.

Jessica was a different story entirely. She ignored me pointedly for half of the day, and then decided that it would be easier to talk to me and make me feel bad. That's how I ended up going to the movie with her instead of anyone else, and paying for both of us.

We decided to see a zombie movie. I didn't really want to see it, but she did, and I was doing my best to keep her happy.

"I'm really glad we're going to this movie, Jess. I've missed you." It was a little bit true; I missed being around people and Jessica qualified as a person.

She sniffed impatiently. "Come ON, Bella, the movie's gonna start."

We ran into the theater. _I hope this movie is better than it looks… _

* * *

It wasn't. Lying in my bed that night, I considered my options. Number one, put up with Jessica and her nonsense, pay for her movie ticket, and be bored out of my mind. Number two, be alone indefinitely.

Number two was starting to look a lot better.

What I really needed was a hobby…

* * *

A/N: I promise Jake is coming soon! Please review, I know this chapter wasn't too exciting but I hope you'll keep reading! Thank you!


	3. Adventure

Avoiding the Night

A/N: Well, I'm on a roll here. Third chapter in one night. Of course, they aren't very long so that's not saying much. Anyway, same deal as last time applies. Please read and review, I'm anxious to know what you think.

Thank you so much for my first review, it made my day!!!

Also, if you have any insight as to why my paragraphs refuse to be spaced out, PLEEEEASE tell me!

PPS, I forgot to add this in the last one, but I of course do not own Twilight. That's just silly.

Chapter 3: Adventure

BPOV

Yep, I definitely needed a hobby. Soon after going out with Jess to the movies, my friends started to realize that I was back for real, and they wanted to hang out with me too. This was great, except that I gave up my quest to be the nerdiest student in Forks, and consequently started to have free time.

I really missed Edward. Sometimes I missed him so much I felt like I was going to fall apart. Even though I still hadn't given up hope that he would return and sweep me away again, I knew that until that time I needed to find something to keep me occupied.

The answer to my prayers came on a rainy day. I was driving home from school when I decided to go the long way home. After all, Charlie wouldn't be home for another hour or so, and I didn't work today. I didn't feel like being by myself this afternoon.

As I drove down a familiar but forgotten road, I saw two beat-up motorcycles on the side of the road, with a cardboard sign that said, "For Sale". All of a sudden it struck me: I had saved up a ton of money for college, but after all of my hard work I'd hardly need it, I had already been offered full rides to three different schools. I could get one of these fixed up and ride it around! Surely the wind in my hair would give me a new sense of life, and it could almost certainly go faster than my truck. I mean, what can't?

Pulling over, I jumped out of the truck and ran up to the front door of the house the bikes were in front of and knocked. A young boy who looked vaguely familiar answered.

"Hey, how much do you want for the bikes?" I rushed through the question in my excitement.

He looked at me skeptically. "You know they're both broken, right?"

I shrugged and came up with a quick lie. "I have a friend who can fix them". _Wait… do I?_

He looked slightly impressed, and said, "Well, you're the only one who has stopped by to ask about them, so they're yours. No charge. Want me to help you load them up?"

_Jacob Black!_ Jake had fixed up Billy's old truck, hadn't he? It was in perfect condition!

"Sure, that would be great!" I was on the verge of telling the boy I only needed one when I realized it would be pretty greedy of me to ask Jake to fix a disastrously broken bike without offering something in return. Maybe he'd want one.

On the way home, I called Charlie for some quick directions to La Push. I hadn't been to see the Blacks in so long, I could hardly remember which direction to go.

"You're visiting Jake and Billy? Well that's great, sweetie!" Charlie could barely contain his excitement; he had always loved Jake. When I was little, I got the distinct impression that he wished it was the olden times when you could betroth a girl to a boy at birth. He certainly would have jumped on that.

Following Charlie's directions, I made the short drive to La Push. As I was pulling in the driveway, the distinctive crunch of old truck on gravel must have alerted Jake, because when I turned off the car I saw him peering out the window.

_Jake. Oh, Jake._ What happened to the preteen with long hair and puppydog eyes that I remembered so well? Well, he still had the long hair and puppydog eyes, I guess. What shocked me was that's not the first thing I noticed.

He had grown considerably, for one thing. He towered over me, looking to be almost a foot taller than me. He also looked… different. I knew that he was younger than me by a year or so, but looking at him, I never would have known. He no longer had the skinny, soft build of a boy, but had lean and defined muscles. His chest was strong, tapering down to a tight waist, and his veins protruded slightly in his forearms His face had lost most of the childishness I remembered; his face was long and broad, with high cheekbones and dark eyebrows. His full lips were stretched over ridiculously white teeth in an enormously enthusiastic grin.

"BELLA!" He jogged over to my truck, laying his hands on the hood. "Glad to see this thing is still running for you, I put my heart and soul into it!"

_Maybe that's why it runs so well. Oh, stop it Bella. If you say these things out loud, you'll give him the wrong idea. _I seemed to remember little Jacob having somewhat of a crush on me back in the day.

"Jake!" I looked up at him. "Man, what happened to you? You're huge!"

Jacob chuckled. "Yeah, I finally got that growth spurt everyone's been talking about. Now maybe I can get all the girls." His eyes sparkled. "Come on, Bella, let's go see Billy. He'll be happy to see you!"

He grabbed my hand and started to drag me towards the house. My brain stalled temporarily, and I stood stupidly while he tried to pull me to the front door

_His hand is so warm._ I had never held a warm hand before, and it sent a thrill up my arm. His large hand enveloped mine and seemed to heat me to my core.

"Bella?" He let go of my hand, obviously thinking I felt weird about it. I shook my head quickly to clear it, put a smile on my face, and followed him.

"Bella! How are you doing?" Billy's deep voice reverberated through the forest, though he was still just inside the door.

"I'm great Billy, thanks for asking. I'm just coming down to see Jake. It's been ages since I've seen him."

Billy gave Jacob a slight smile, causing Jake to look away. "Well you kids have fun. Tell Charlie I said 'hi'".

"Will do Billy!" I hurried away from the door, feeling a little awkward. Apparently Billy had the same hopes for Jacob and I as my dad did.

I looked back to see Jacob smiling and looking into my eyes hopefully. "So what did you have in mind today?"

"I dunno, I just wanted to hang out. What were you up to before?" I didn't want to make it seem like I wanted to use Jacob for his services.

Jacob looked abashed for a moment, then looked down at me sheepishly. "I was just working on my car, but we can find something else to do that's more interesting."

_Perfect!_ "No, Jake that's great! I'd love to watch you work on that!"

Jacob looked at me doubtfully for a minute, and then started towards the garage, beckoning me to follow him.

The garage was clearly Jacob's domain. There was an old radio with a bunch of CD's stacked beside it next to a calendar on the wall proudly displaying the muscle car of the month, and right in the middle of the garage his old Rabbit was up on jacks. Littered around the room were empty soda cans and a few old pizza boxes. Apparently a growing boy needs his food.

I turned around to see Jacob watching me, looking a little ashamed.

"Sorry about the clutter, Bella. I wasn't really expecting company."

After being reassured that I didn't judge him in the least for not keeping his workstation tidy, he set to work on his car. As he tinkered, we kept a steady flow of conversation. I couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to him. When E—my previous boyfriend and I had hung out, I was always trying to find the right thing to say to be as perfect as him. While he found it "adorable", as he put it, watching me stumble over my thoughts, I always found it a little tiring. Here, I put on no airs. Jacob's smiles and laughter were infectious, and pretty soon I found myself laughing at his stories about school, friends, and Billy.

Apparently satisfied with his progress, Jacob sat up after a while and dusted off his hands.

"So what have you been up to, Bella?"

I told him a little bit about school and friends, of course leaving out the part where I had become a mole for 4 or 5 months after the Cullens' sudden departure.

"Jeez, Bella, sounds like you need a hobby." Jake looked at me innocently with a hint of laughter in his eyes.

_If only you knew. That's where you come in._

I blushed a little and attempted to recover my composure. "Well actually, Mr. Black, I came by a couple bikes not too long ago." I said loftily. Adopting a more serious and hopefully endearing expression, I continued "I kind of thought riding a motorcycle would bring some adventure into my life. The only problem is… it's broken." I looked up hopefully, only to be met by a large smile and excited eyes.

"YES! That's awesome, Bells!"

_Bells… wow, that sounds nice. _I had never had a friend close enough to give me a nickname, and it made me feel a little warm and fuzzy inside.

Suddenly, I noticed Jake wasn't sitting in front of me anymore. Looking up, I saw him pacing excitedly and talking, half to himself and half to me.

"I have parts for motorcycles… I fixed that Kawasaki back in the day, I bet I could put this one back together." He looked at me with eagerness written all over his face. Then he said what I had been waiting for.

"Can I fix it for you?"

_YES!_

I threw my arms around his neck. Jacob Black was truly a godsend in my troubled times.

"Jake, that would be awesome!! Do you really think you can?"

I suddenly realized what I had done, and quickly disengaged myself from him. He stood with a dazed look on his face, and then seemed to come back to himself abruptly and started making some quick calculations, looking around his garage and counting on his fingers.

"I need to see the bikes before I can figure out if it's doable or not. When can you bring them over?"

_Uh oh, here it comes._ "Well, I actually have them with me."

Jacob's face lit up. "Ah Bella that's awesome.. Wait, them?"

"Well yeah. It was a two-for-one deal sorta thing. If you can help me, maybe I can give you one of them as a thank you." I hoped vehemently that he didn't see through my plan. Hopefully he would think that he came up with the idea to help me.

Luckily for me, it didn't seem like Jacob was thinking about anything but playing with motorcycles.

"Aww yeah Bells, that would be awesome!"

"Just one thing though Jake… I don't want my dad to know about this just yet. I don't want him to think I'm being reckless. Let's make sure they work before we tell anyone, including Billy. Can it be our little secret?"

Jake's eyes gleamed. "Sure thing, Bells!"

_Bells…. No, this is Jake. Stop it._

Jacob and I snuck past Billy's window. He easily lifted the bikes out of the back of my truck and skirted the treeline to stay out of sight of his dad.

"Well, when do you want to start? This looks like it might be a hefty project if we're gonna get both bikes in working order." Jacob looked at the bikes with a critical eye.

I pondered. I needed a distraction, and so far Jake had afforded me more happiness and entertainment than I could remember. Plus, I hated Sundays. Sundays meant sitting around all day, especially since I gave up my pursuit of universal knowledge.

"Is tomorrow too soon?" I bit my lip and peeked at him out of the corner of my eye.

He grinned even more broadly than before, if that's possible. "Tomorrow is great! We'll talk about what kind of parts we need then. Deal?" He held out his surprisingly large hand and I shook it.

_So warm…_

I walked through the door to my house about a half hour later. Charlie glanced at me, and then stared.

"What's wrong, dad?"

He shook his head slowly, as if trying to get a thought out of it.

"You're.. _glowing_, Bells."

I blushed deeply. _What is he talking about?_ "Well Jake and I were outside, and I probably got a little bit of a sunburn. Is it a bad thing?"

"No!" Charlie exclaimed. "I'm just not used to seeing you so animated, that's all. It's a good thing though, Bells. Trust me."

He kissed me on the top of my head and grunted something about heading to bed. As he walked away, though, he was shaking his head with a slight smile..

As I laid in my bed, my mind kept drifting to the time spent with Jake. I had felt so warm and alive, feeling the sun on a cloudy day in Forks. I actually found myself looking forward to the next day for the first time in months. I briefly pondered what I would wear the next day.

I couldn't wait to see his bright and cheery face again.

_Bells…_  


* * *

* * *

JPOV:

"JACOB!"

I snorted and woke up with a start.

God, Billy. Can't you let me sleep once in a while? I had grown so much in the last few months that I was always either hungry or tired.

"Jacob Black get out here RIGHT NOW!"

"Coming, dad!" Man, he can be so aggravating. Why did he have to call me just then? I was having the best dream…

"_Jake!" She called out to me from across the field. "Jake, I've been waiting here forever! I was wondering if you had forgotten!"_

_Silly Bella, like I could ever forget about her. I smiled broadly and walked towards her. _

_Her hair was blowing in the wind, drifting around her face. She was so beautiful._

"_Oh Jake, I've missed you so much." I had finally reached her. I took her hand and looked into her eyes. What I saw in looking back at me was love, nothing else._

_She put her hand on the side of my face and I moved towards her. She closed her eyes…_

What I would give to sleep for 5 more minutes. Sometimes I thought Billy could see into my fantasies. He certainly always wore a knowing smile.

I sighed and pulled on a shirt. As I passed the mirror on my way out, I stopped for the millionth time and looked at my body. How did I get so tall so fast? Billy chalked it up to a "growth spurt" as he called it, but that didn't explain the muscle. Growing that fast, I should have been stretched out like taffy, but muscles had sprouted out of nowhere. It wasn't that I was sedentary or lazy, but I certainly wasn't lifting weights 5 times a week.

"What is it, Billy?" I came into the kitchen to find my father waiting expectantly.

"Someone is here to see you." He motioned towards the window. Only then did I hear the crunch of gravel and a distinctive grinding. _That's my truck! Well, Bella's truck now._

Heart racing, I peeked out the window in time to see Bella climb out of her truck.

_Man, she grew up._ I remembered Bella being tall, lanky, and uncoordinated.

_Some things never change_. I smirked as she tripped over a pebble.

"BELLA!!" I walked over to her truck, somehow getting there faster than expected. She was looking at me with a really weird expression, so I patted her truck and said something corny about it.

She cocked her head slightly, and then shook it a little. Something was going on in her head and obviously I wasn't impressing her with witty repertoire.

_Smooth, Jake._

I moved a little closer, and she finally seemed to notice how tall I had gotten.

"Jake! Man, what happened to you? You got huge!" Bella looked up at me with an odd expression.

Not knowing how to take it, I replied with something about what Billy calls "growth spurts".

_Batting a thousand today, buddy._

To cover the awkwardness I had done so well in creating, I said "Hey, let's go see Billy."

Not thinking, I grabbed her hand and started towards the house. After a half a step, I met resistance.

I turned around to see her staring at me like she'd never seen me before. Her gaze slowly shifted from my face to her hand. I let go quickly, cursing myself for not thinking. _She's never gonna want to come back._

For an instant though, I thought I saw something in her eyes.. wonder? Realization? And then it was gone. I must have imagined it.

"Bella?"

She shook her head again quickly, plastered a smile on her face, and followed me into the house where Billy was surely waiting.

"Bella!" Billy's welcome echoed across the entire damn reservation. _I'm probably gonna get questions from all my damn friends as to why she was visiting me._ The thought brought a slight smile to my face.

I was vaguely aware of Bella and my dad making conversation, but I was too wrapped up in my thoughts to hear what they were saying. Just then, Billy caught my eye and winked.

_Shit, I gotta get her out of here. He's gonna embarrass the hell out of me._

Luckily, Bella seemed to have the same idea and scuttled out the door as soon as she could. After tripping over the doorjamb, of course. God she was adorable.

Man, she really got to me. The crush I had on her in fourth grade definitely never went away.

She turned around at that exact moment, of course, to see me ogling her like some kind of creep.

_Great._

"So what did you have in mind today?" I hoped she would just think I was waiting for her to talk to me.

She shrugged. "I dunno, I just wanted to hang out. What were you up to before?"

_Wait, she just wanted to come see me? No plans?_ My heart swelled. Maybe this could turn out better than I'd hoped! I would give anything to be able to see her on a regular basis.

She looked at me expectantly, and I suddenly remembered she had asked a question. And then I realized I didn't want to answer it.

_Fixing cars. Like that's what she wants to do. Do I tell the truth or…_

"I was just working on my car, but we can find something else to do that's more interesting."

_Please don't get bored and leave, please don't get bored and leave-_

"Perfect!"

_What?!_ I didn't even hear what she said after that; I practically skipped to the garage and held the door for her as if she was my girl.

_Oops._

I had forgotten that my garage looks like… well, a junky garage. Pizza boxes, pop cans, dirty mufflers, and newspapers were lying all over the place. Thank God I took down last year's calendar of swimsuit models.

"Sorry about the clutter, Bella. I wasn't really expecting company." I ducked my head, hoping she wouldn't get disgusted and leave.

"Haha Jake, come on. I live with Charlie. If I wasn't there to cook and clean for him, he would probably live in conditions similar to this. Except without the awesome car. Show me what you're doing with it!"

She sat down with her hands in her lap and looked at me expectantly.

_What I would give to kiss her right now…_

I began working on my car, and although I was concentrating on not breaking anything and looking stupid in front of her, we also kept up a steady stream of conversation. I never remembered her laughing like this when she was with Cullen.

Edward Cullen. I wondered how she was doing without him. She seemed like she was happy, but once in a while she would get a distant look in her eyes. One time I thought she was about to cry. I might have been imagining things, though, because we had just been talking about my 4th birthday party.

I got up and cleaned my hands off as best I could. Enough of this giving-Bella-half-of-my-attention thing.

"So what have you been up to, Bella?"

She talked a little bit about her friends and school, but I could tell that something just wasn't right. There was something about Bella Swan that allowed me to understand her better than I should, and I could tell that she wasn't happy.

"Jeez, Bella, sounds like you need a hobby" I joked, trying to make light of the conversation.

She blushed and looked down. _Way to go, idiot. You hurt her feelings._

In the next instant though, she looked up at me, eyes sparkling with some hidden mirth. "Well actually, Mr. Black, I came by a couple bikes not too long ago."

_God, she's incredible. _Those eyes were mesmerizing.

I pulled myself out of my reverie just in time to hear her say ".. it's broken."

_Broken? I can fix it!!_ I felt myself getting excited and before I could contain myself, I burst out with my eagerness "YES!! That's awesome, Bells!"

She looked at me again with that same veiled and almost calculating gaze. I felt another thrill of hope that she might see me as something more than her little brother. She looked away quickly, another flush creeping up her cheeks. Suddenly, I found myself making plans.

I started pacing and going through all of the motorcycles I had seen or worked on in the past, mentally tallying all of the parts I had and how extensive the damage could be to this new bike.

I snapped my head up and looked at her.

"Can I fix it for you?"

Her face split into a beautiful smile that I'd not seen in a long time. She threw her arms around my neck and hugged me.

_So this is heaven._ I could smell the strawberry scent of her hair, and as I wrapped my arms around her, she seemed so small in my arms. At that moment, I realized I would do whatever it took to be around this girl. Even if she never loves me, just hugging her would be enough.

_Almost._

I became aware that she had let go of me, and was looking really embarrassed. I gave myself a mental shake and tried to start my brain back up. I had a sudden intelligent thought

"I need to see the bikes before I can figure out if it's doable or not. When can you bring them over?"

For some reason, she blushed crimson at that question. Hesitatingly, she responded that she had them with her.

_Ahhh, this day gets more and more perfect! She can stay all evening now! Maybe all night too…_

_Get it together, man._

"Awesome!" _Wait a minute…_ "Wait, _them_?"

Looking more embarrassed by the moment, she explained that the bikes were kind of a two for one deal, and she hoped that if she could get them fixed, she would give one to me.

_Imagine us, riding side by side, through the paths in the forest. We'd make a picnic lunch.. Okay, earth to Jake._

I had never been so excited in my life.

"Just one thing though Jake… I don't want my dad to know about this just yet. I don't want him to think I'm being reckless. Let's make sure they work before we tell anyone, including Billy. Can it be our little secret?"

_Our little secret…_

"Sure thing, Bells!" _Man, I hope I don't sound as pumped as I feel. I'm gonna scare this girl off in no time._

We managed to sneak the motorcycles past the house pretty easily, although I could never really count on keeping anything from Billy. He knew how to keep a secret though.

"Well, when do you want to start? This looks like it might be a hefty project if we're gonna get both bikes in working order." I looked at the bikes, not daring to chance a glance at Bella

_Please say sometime soon…_

After an eternity, Bella finally made a suggestion. "Is tomorrow too soon?"

_YES!_ I thought my cheeks were going to split from smiling so big. We agreed to talk parts and money when she came back tomorrow, even though I would have taken out loans to buy the parts if it meant she'd keep coming back. We shook on it, and I felt her soft hand linger in mine for a second.

_Don't get your hopes up. Cullen was basically a male model. Look at you._

She flounced away, without tripping on a single thing, and I watched her drive away until I couldn't see her anymore.

I walked into my house, feeling about like I was on cloud nine. Billy just smirked and watched me.

"You missed a couple phone calls. Embry and Quil both called. Apparently they heard Bella was down here, and want details. I sincerely hope you can't provide the kind of details they're looking for."

I just smiled at Billy. "I'll call them later. Night, Dad."

I laid awake for a long time that night. There were certain moments that I felt she was seeing me in a new light.. not just a 16 year old kid, but someone she could spend time with, share her life with. It was hard not to get carried away when I thought about those soft hands in mine.

_Bells…_

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A/N: Well, that chapter ended up being super long. I hope you like it, and thanks again for the reviews and for subscribing!! Please help if you have good ideas! I promise there will be drama and romance and adventure in the chapters to come!


	4. Misgivings

A/N: Thank you to everyone has read my story and especially to those who reviewed!! I am currently in the market for a Beta, so if anyone knows of a good one (or is a good one) for Bella-Jacob stories, please let me know!

I promise the drama will pick up soon, but right now I'm enjoying Bella getting to know Jake.

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Chapter 4- Misgivings

BPOV:

"Bella, come on!"

I hurried down the steps, careful to miss the squeaky step that always startled me and caused me to trip about half the time. Charlie was starting to sound a little impatient. We were supposed to go to Jake's for dinner with Billy and I think some other people too, and Charlie didn't want to miss the food. Apparently if you show up late to the Black's family dinners, you leave with an empty belly.

I had been spending a lot of time with Jacob Black. It had been a week since he asked me if he could help with the motorcycles, and I had gone down to his house almost every day. The only time I missed was because Newton's had me working an 8 hour shift after school.

The time spent with Jacob was always pleasant. Actually, pleasant wasn't a strong enough word. It was downright fun.

Jake always seemed to understand what to talk about and what to avoid. For a sixteen year old boy, he was mighty perceptive. Whether we were talking in his garage or wading through old parts in a junkyard to find ones that work, I almost always had a smile on my face. It made it so much easier to stop thinking about-- what happened last fall. The time had its repercussions, however.

I think I was in a state of shock the first few months after _my boyfriend_ left. I expected him to eventually come back, hat in hand, and begging for my forgiveness. Or at least show up at school again and allow me to be awkward and win him over a second time. After 4 or 5 months, however, I started to realize that this wasn't going to happen.

Hanging out with Jake was great, but it made me think so much more than I needed to. Every warm touch reminded me of a cold one. Every sideways glance reminded me that I was once loved. Sometimes when Jake would flash his breathtaking smile, it was almost too much for me to bear. I would remember the kisses that would take my breath away.

Poor Jake had to know something was going on inside of my head; after all, sometimes my eyes would well up with tears for no reason, or I would sit in silent contemplation for a half hour. He never said anything about it though, or pressed the subject.

I cleared my head and smiled at Charlie.

"Ready to go, Dad?"

The Blacks' small kitchen was jam-packed. Sue Clearwater was orchestrating much of the cooking, with her daughter Leah helping.

Leah was my year in school, but somehow seemed so much older. Her thick, black hair and dark skin put my pasty complexion to shame. She had large, dark eyes with a thick fringe of eyelashes framing them. She was beautiful. As I watched her, Jacob came over to help with the kitchen. Seeing them side-by-side looked like an ad for Native American modeling. They looked perfect together.

That thought caused a little squirm in my intestines. _Man, I'm greedy._

Jake glanced over at the table and saw me sitting there. Flashing a huge smile, he came over to sit down between me and Sue's other child, Seth. Seth stared at Jacob with adoring eyes from the moment he sat down, and occasionally interjected into the conversation, always supporting Jake.

"Leave that boy alone, Seth, you're gonna give him a rash from rubbing up against him so close."

Harry, Seth's dad, threw a balled-up napkin across the table at his son to get his attention. Seth blushed and hastily attempted to engage Billy in conversation.

"Dinner's ready!" Sue called into the room. She brought over the massive pot of spaghetti, and almost lost both of her hands as the men dug into the pot.

_Jeez, maybe Charlie was right about being late and going home hungry._ Within seconds, the pot was half empty.

Eating dinner at the Blacks felt so homey. I wasn't required to talk, and I mostly just watched, but the interaction between everyone there was like that of family that actually enjoys each other's company. Charlie, Billy and Harry talked animatedly about their latest fishing escapade, while Seth and Leah bickered. Once in a while, Seth would turn to Jake for support with an idolizing hopefulness. Leah would then roll her eyes and start talking to her mother again.

Whenever Jake felt like I needed to be more included, he would turn to me and engage me in conversation in a low voice about our plans for the motorcycles. I kind of got the feeling that he liked the idea of us having an intimate conversation.

I didn't particularly mind; it felt nice having a friend that genuinely cared about whether or not I was happy. I looked up to see how Charlie was doing, but instead of meeting his eyes, I was immediately met with Leah's disgusted glare. I started and turned red.

Jacob glanced up, rolled his eyes, and turned back to me.

"Don't worry about her, Bella. She just plain doesn't like girls. She's really bitter from her ex breaking up with her, and she always prefers when she's the only female in the room." He considered this for a second. "I guess she feels like it gives her a better chance.

I nodded, but still felt a little out of place. I mean, I hadn't done anything to her except be born without a Y chromosome. Why do I get so much unbridled dislike?

As all of the men filed out of the kitchen to build a fire, I stayed inside to help clean up the dishes. Sue and Leah both seemed to find it to be their automatic responsibility, and I figured if I'm going to be spending more time around here, I needed pitch in.

"So Bella, what brings you down to the Blacks' so often? From what Billy's told Harry, you pretty much live here anymore." I looked up into Sue's good-natured eyes.

"Well, I guess I just missed Jake. We always hung out when I was younger and Charlie and Billy would go fishing, or watch the game. I'm lucky he's such a good friend and still wants to see me after all this time."

Sue nodded and returned to the dishes, but I heard a small scoff from the other side of the kitchen. I turned around to see Leah looking at me with her lip curled slightly. Man, this girl did not like me at all.

After finishing the dishes, we wandered outside to find the men. Sure enough, they were around a bonfire with some beers listening to Billy and Harry retell (and possibly fabricate) stories about hunting and fishing.

I sat down on the log next to Jacob. The long day, coupled with Leah's unwarranted but unrepentant dislike, had wearied me. Things were so easy with the Cullens…

Alice loved me, Esme wanted me to be a part of the family, as did Carlisle. Emmet saw me as a kid sister, and Jasper didn't mind me either. Rosalie hated me, but from what E—her brother had been hinting at, this was some sort of jealousy. I fit into that family like I belonged there.

And look at me here—Jacob obviously loved spending time around me, but sometimes I felt that Billy was a little suspicious and protective of his son. The Clearwaters as a whole didn't seem to have an awful opinion of me, but Leah would never like me. She had made that clear in an instant.

_Oh, Edward!_ Thinking the name caused me to break. I realized there were tears on my face before I could do anything about it, and the next thing I knew I was being led away from the bonfire by a large, warm hand.

We ended up on the dark beach of La Push. Once away from the party, I broke down entirely. Jacob pressed me to his broad chest and just allowed me to cry.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

I sniffled and nuzzled further into his chest. His terms of endearment were really starting to grow on me.

"Bells, come on. You can tell me. Is it about.. him?"

I dissolved into new sobs. Jacob rubbed my back and listened to me cry, occasionally whispering that it was going to be okay.

When I finally felt strong enough, I looked up into Jake's worried eyes.

_God, he's gotten handsome. Look at his face… it's absolutely perfect._

I brushed a strand of hair away from his eyes. An unfathomable current passed through his face. He started to lean in…

My stomach jumped into my throat as I gasped and pushed him away. "No, Jake!" How could he have gotten that idea? I was crying my eyes out, for God's sake.

He let go of me and turned to the side. In the absence of his embrace I suddenly felt cold. I touched his arm. Maybe I had led him on a little bit. After all, the poor kid used to have the biggest crush on me. Something clicked in my brain.

_He still does._

The night was very still around us. A few feet away on the beach, the waves were lapping at the shore, the water shining a vivid orange. The sun was going down quickly, and I already missed its warmth. How I used to revel in the night, and the absence of the sun. Now I would do anything to avoid the night and the dark, cruel coldness it brings.

Jake turned back to me, with an expression that almost caused me to throw myself crying into his arms again. "I'm sorry Bella. I didn't mean to freak you out. I was just going to kiss you on the forehead to make you feel better. I'm sorry if that's too far. I understand."

_Well, I'm an asshole for sure._

"Oh, Jake, I'm sorry." I looked down at my hands. "It's just with everything that happened with Edw--" I forced myself to say the name. "_Edward_, my emotions are just a mess. I don't know up from down anymore, and I'm so afraid of our friendship getting hurt. It's the one thing keeping me going."

I looked up earnestly into his eyes. _Please let him understand._

His mouth grew into a gentle smile. "Bella, you know you can talk to me about anything. It's only been a week, but we have something here. You're already like my best friend."

His innocent honesty caused me to lose the light grip I still had on my sanity. The next thing I knew, I was spilling the whole story. Edward telling me he wanted to be with me "forever", and convincing me that I was already part of his family, and then leaving me in the woods. Sam finding me, my absolute lack of a will to flourish and survive, and my relentless pursuit of distracting myself through schoolwork. I told him how I was making it through, but just barely. I even told him about all the things Edward had promised me, and failed to deliver.

"I just don't think I can ever get close to someone like that again, Jake. Tonight I got upset because I was looking around at your family and friends, and I realized how poorly I fit in. I know you love spending time with me, but I'm broken and everyone can see it. Leah hated me on sight." My lower lip trembled, giving away how truly upset I was about the situation.

Jake grabbed my hands and held them fast, even though I flinched from the contact.

"Bella, listen. I don't just love spending time with you because you're the only one available, or because you listen to my rambling." He looked away for a moment, running his hands through his hair, and then looked back with determination in his eyes. "I love who you are. You're the sweetest person I've ever met, and you're also hilarious. Maybe you don't realize it, or you just think I laugh at everything, but you crack me up."

He lifted my chin so I would look into his eyes. "I hate to see you like this, Bells. You're an amazing girl, everyone knows it. Leah hates everyone, but my dad loves you, and Harry Clearwater winked at me across the table during dinner." He cleared his throat looked away for a second. "I guess he thinks there's something going on here."

He looked back at me. "But for me, all I care about is making you happy. If that means leaving you alone to cry on the beach, I'll do it. I hope it doesn't though."

I stared at Jacob like I'd never seen anything like him before. Is this really my little Jacob that chased me around when I was little? He had grown up so much! I felt a warmth in my heart at his words.

"Thank you so much, Jake. I always feel better when I'm around you. It's just.." I trailed off, not knowing what I was going to say.

"Not enough?" Jake looked at me with a resigned understanding.

We sat in quiet thoughtfulness for a while. "Come on, Bella. They're going to wonder about us if we don't get back soon." Jake finally got up, stretching his hand out to me. "I don't want you to get lost or trip over anything, so if it's alright with you, I'll lead you."

I looked up at him, towering over me on the dark beach. "Wait, Jake."

I timidly approached him and put my arms around his neck. "Thank you for everything. You might not know it, but you're saving my life." His warm arms encircled my waist, drawing me closer. I breathed in his earthy scent, and suddenly felt like I had returned home after a year-long journey.

"I'd do anything for you, Bells." Almost too quiet to hear, he added, "I always will."

I broke the embrace and offered my hand to him.

"Let's go back to the party, shall we?"

He took my hand gently, and led me away from the beach. I walked behind him, watching his strong back disappear into the darkness, feeling the heat from his hand.

_Could it be enough?_

_

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JPOV:

"JACOB BLACK!!"

"OUCH!" I scrambled out from underneath my car. Rubbing my head, I silently cursed Billy.

_Damn old man, I'm not his dog. Couldn't he wheel himself out here or throw a pebble against the window instead of bellowing my name and scaring the shit out of me?_

Truth was, I wasn't really mad at Billy. I knew his wheelchair couldn't make it across the uneven pavement to the garage. That's half the reason why Bella's motorcycle scheme worked out so well. There was no way Billy could get over here and see what we were doing.

_Bella…_

She had spent more time here in the last week than she had at home. I couldn't understand why she was so interested in being over here; I knew I was working on her motorcycle, but she just sat there and watched me work. Nothing exciting there.

Of course, in the back of my mind I had that little voice telling me that she was genuinely interested in me as a person. That voice was overshadowed by the chorus of voices telling me she and Fabio just broke up, and there's no way she'd have interest in a poor scruffy kid a year and some months younger than here.

I really don't like those voices.

As I trudged out of the garage, I wondered what tonight would bring. Bella and Charlie were coming over for dinner, but so were the Clearwaters. I vividly remembered my conversation with Leah Clearwater earlier in the week.

"Jake? What the hell are you doing with her? You were all 'buddy buddy' with her until she moved away, and then she forgot about you, only to come back and start dating that pasty-assed rich kid. Now you're gonna be her shoulder to cry on?" She looked at me expectantly, with a disgusted look in her eyes that didn't entirely hide the jealousy. I think Leah might have a little crush.

"Shut the hell up, Leah." My witty response obviously didn't impress her, so she yelled a little bit more, called me some really nasty names, and stalked off to go pout somewhere else.

I had heard stories about why Leah was so nasty, and I understood that having your boyfriend dump you for your cousin he'd met once could have some emotionally scarring consequences, but she was just such a _bitch_. And she wasn't one to hide her feelings. I was afraid Bella would get the sharp end of her bitch-stick.

I wandered through the front door, and was rewarded for all my hard work on my car by a dirty glare from my father.

"Listen, Jake. I know you have a thing for Bella, and I don't know what you two are doing in that shed all the time, but if you make such a mess that you need to spend 4 or 5 hours in there cleaning when she's not around, I'm going to install surveillance cameras. Either that or tell Charlie, he'd probably just shoot you." He pondered this for a moment. "And I'd have to spend a hell of a lot less on food."

I made a face and heaved a great sigh. "Sorry to disappoint, Dad, but she just watches me fix my car and we talk. Nothing is going on."

_Definitely nothing,_ I thought moodily.

He looked at me critically for a second, and then shrugged. "Well if you expect to impress this girl, you'd better get dinner started. The Clearwaters will be here in an hour and Charlie and Bella will probably be down shortly afterwards."

Sure enough, the Clearwaters came busting through the door at about 5 that afternoon. Sue and Leah took over in the kitchen, and I decided to go freshen up a little before Bella showed up. She didn't _always_ have to see me covered in grease.

By the time I got out of the shower and was dressed, I was hungry as a lion. Noticing that Leah was busier bossing her mother around than watching the meatballs, I snuck over and grabbed a couple, popping them in my mouth before she even noticed. Looking back at the table, I saw that Charlie and Bella were already there.

My face broke into an uncontrollably huge smile, and I went to sit next to her. Even feeling a little uncomfortable with strangers, she was so beautiful. Her hair was down and curling lightly at the bottom, and she had a button-up blouse on over dark jeans. I wondered briefly if she knew how beautiful she really was.

I started lightheartedly bantering with Billy and Charlie, and it certainly didn't escape my notice that Seth Clearwater was hanging onto my every word, occasionally piping up to agree with me. It made me feel good inside that this kid saw me as such a hero.

_Maybe Bella will notice what a good influence I am.._

"Dinner's ready!" _Ahh, Sue. My two favorite words!_ She brought over the pot of spaghetti and meatballs and we immediately dug in. I chuckled a little when I saw Bella's expression; she looked like she was watching a special on Animal Planet featuring lions tackling gazelles.

The room was warm and filled with chatter. Bella didn't talk much, so sporadically I would start talking to her in a low voice about how the motorcycles were coming. I kind of liked the idea that we were having a private conversation in a room full of people.

On my way across the table to grab more meatballs, Harry Clearwater caught my eye and winked. I looked down quickly, feeling a little agitated.

_Why does everyone think we're together? It just makes it harder when I have to think about how we're not._

I looked over at Bella to make sure she hadn't caught the exchange, and I saw that her face was red and she was looking down at her plate. I looked across the table, curious, and saw Leah staring at Bella as if Bella had committed some unpardonable offense. I rolled my eyes.

_Stupid Leah._

"Don't worry about her, Bella." I couldn't believe how nasty Leah was being. Bella was my guest and she had no right to make her feel like she didn't belong.

Soon afterwards, all the men headed outside to build a fire and reminisce, while the women did the dishes. I felt a little bad about leaving Bella in there, but I figured she'd feel more awkward if she was outside with all the men when the rest of the women were inside.

Once outside, Harry sidled alongside of me. "So, what's going on with you and that cute brunette?" He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned.

_Sigh._ "Nothing, Harry. We've just been hanging out, working on my car. Just friends."

_Just friends._

"If you say so. I saw Leah shooting daggers at that girl earlier, though." Harry looked around conspiratorially and lowered his voice. "Leah's my daughter and I love her, but look out for her. She loves taking what other girls want."

_What other girls want.. _ I laughed humorlessly. "Bella doesn't want me, Harry. I would know."

He shrugged. "I guess. She probably doesn't even know it yet. But I do." He winked and sauntered off towards the rest of the men.

I sat down on a log, completely taken aback. I felt dazed, like someone had hit me with something hard. _Maybe she doesn't even know it yet._

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Bella sitting down next to me, or anything else for that matter. When I finally pulled myself from my thoughts, I noticed she was crying.

_Not here. Leah would eat this up._

I quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the group. We trudged through the trees to the beach, and sat down on a huge rock. She immediately collapsed into my arms, crying against my chest.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

She didn't say anything, but sort of nuzzled her way farther into my arms. _She is so damn cute. I can't take it._

"Bells, come on. You can tell me." I took a deep breath. "Is it about… him?"

_Whoops._ She started crying all over again, soaking my shirt with her tears. I did the best I could to comfort her, rubbing her back and telling her it would be okay.

Her sobs gradually subsided, and she looked up into my face.

_How can one girl be so gorgeous? And how could that creep leave her broken? I would never leave her. _

I felt a rippling of anger at his stupidity. At that moment, she reached up and brushed my hair out of my eyes. That sweet gesture almost overwhelmed me, and I leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

"No, Jake!" She pushed me away. _What? I thought we were friends!_

I turned away, feeling like an ass. Did she think I was trying to make a move on her? Wow, she must really have a low opinion of me if that's the kind of guy she thinks I am. I sighed heavily.

_I just can't win._

"I'm sorry Bella. I didn't mean to freak you out. I was just going to kiss you on the forehead to make you feel better." _And I made you feel worse._

She looked shocked for a moment, and then her face crumpled. "Oh, Jake, I'm sorry. It's just with everything that happened with Edw--" She stopped, and then steeled herself. "_Edward_, my emotions are just a mess. I don't know up from down anymore, and I'm so afraid of our friendship getting hurt. It's the one thing keeping me going."

She looked up at me, and I could see it written all over her face. _She needs me. She needs me to be there for her._

I smiled at her. "Bella, you know you can talk to me about anything. It's only been a week, but we have something here. You're already like my best friend." It was true. I felt closer to her than any of my friends on the rez.

She swayed for a second, and then suddenly started talking. She told me everything about Cullen, from the beginning. I didn't know why the rest of the rez hated them, but I was really growing an active dislike for that family. They promised her the world, and left her broken in the woods.

Something about the way she was talking caught my attention. She seemed to think she was the only one benefitting from this friendship; that I was just putting up with her. I had to put a stop to that.

I grabbed her hands so she would look me in the eyes. I felt her try to flinch away from my grasp, but I held on tight.

"Bella, listen. I don't just love spending time with you because you're the only one available, or because you listen to my rambling." I searched for the right words without seeming like a lovesick teenager. _Ah, to hell with it._ "I love who you are. You're the sweetest person I've ever met, and you're also hilarious. Maybe you don't realize it, or you just think I laugh at everything, but you crack me up."

I was speaking from the heart. I didn't think twice about what I was saying, because I didn't want it to seem forced. I wanted her to know that I was there for her, through thick and thin.

"All I care about is making you happy. If that means leaving you alone to cry on the beach, I'll do it. I hope it doesn't though." _I really hope it doesn't mean that._

She gazed at me like she wasn't sure what she was seeing. I would have given anything to see into her mind right then, but I just sat still and waited.

"Thank you so much, Jake. I always feel better when I'm around you. It's just.." she stopped talking and looked out onto the sparkling water.

"Not enough." I finished for her halfheartedly. _I know. I'm not perfect. I'm a little boy. And you want Cullen._

We sat on that rock for a while after that. She appeared to be deep in thought, and I was deep in self pity. I decided to be patient with her, in every aspect. Maybe someday she'd come around.

I finally decided it was time to leave, so I stood up and offered my hand to her. "Come on, Bells." I figured if I held her hand on the way back, she wouldn't trip over too much or get lost.

She stood up, and looked at me for a moment. "Wait, Jake".

She started towards me slowly, and my mind exploded. _What is going on here?_ I felt her arms go around my neck, and I could smell the sweet fragrance of her shampoo. All was right in the world. She fit like a glove into my arms.

"Thank you for everything. You might not know it, but you're saving my life."

My heart swelled for her. "I would do anything for you, Bells, I always will." I said the last part so quietly she couldn't possibly hear it.

She released me from the embrace and took my hand. As I led her away from the beach, I felt her eyes on me and wondered what she felt when we were holding each other, what she was thinking. I couldn't dare to hope.

_I would know._

_Maybe she doesn't even know yet._

_But I do.  
_

_

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A/N: There's chapter 4!! Please let me know if you're liking the story. It's taking a lot longer than I anticipated, and I love writing it, so if you want to see more, let me know!! I'm hoping to come out with chapter 5 in the next couple of days, but it's almost Christmas so we'll have to see.

Thanks for the reviews and for favoriting my story!


	5. Promises

A/N: Oh my gosh, thank you all so much for the awesome reviews! I am so excited that there's positive response to my story so please keep reviewing so I can know what I'm supposed to do :)

As for your questions about how the story will unfold, such as Edward returning, possible imprints, etc… well, you'll just have to see ;)

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Chapter 5- Promises

**BPOV**

I sat at the kitchen table, munching on my Cheerios thoughtfully. Today would be the last day of classes before my spring break, and I was actually really excited about having the time off. Although I still missed Edward, the pain was starting to dull as a result of all the time I had spent with Jacob. Unbelievably, I hadn't even had a total meltdown since the bonfire.

Jake and I (or maybe just mostly Jake) had been working on the motorcycles 4 times a week, with one allotted "homework" day. After a week or so of spending time together doing nothing but working on motorcycles and having a good time, we started to feel the strain of homework hanging over our heads. Unwilling to sit home by myself anymore, I suggested that Jake would come up one day a week for homework and pizza. Of course, the ever-agreeable Jake jumped at that opportunity. Since then, we had been seeing each other every single day. On the weekends, Charlie and Billy would hang out, and Jake and I would go to the beach, or take a hike.

I started to feel an irresistible pull towards Jake. Since my heart was obviously still broken, I ruled out love as a cause, or even a girly crush. I decided that Jake and I were just such good friends that being without him made me feel as if I was missing part of myself. After all, that can happen with friends, right? I seemed to remember two of my best friends in Arizona declaring that they were "long-lost twins", dressing similarly and spending all of their time together. This was the same thing, except my long-lost twin was an exceptionally attractive Native American young man who I resolutely steered away from pursuing romantically. After all, love just complicates things.

Finishing my cereal, I took my bowl to the sink and washed it out, laying it on the counter to dry. I wandered over to the stairs.

"Charlie, I'm headed to school. I'll see you when I get home!"

Charlie always seemed to take longer to get out of bed on Fridays.

"Okay, sweetie. Drive safe, enjoy your last day!"

Classes went pretty much the same as ever, except students and teachers alike seemed to be distracted horribly by the impending break. Two of my classes finished a little early, and by the time I got to lunch, I was feeling relaxed and ready for my break.

"Hey, Bella." Angela smiled at me in her gentle way, motioning for me to sit next to her. I was so lucky to have a friend like Angela, accepting me back without question after half a year.

"Oh. Nathan was going to sit there, but whatever." Jessica rolled her eyes and turned back to Lauren. Nathan was her new male target. _I feel so bad for him._

Lunch passed amicably enough. Mike, Angela, and Ben had obviously gotten over my mental sabbatical and treated me like a person again. Jessica and Lauren treated me like I was a leper, but that was nothing surprising. I examined them. Jessica, a short petite girl with frizzy hair, was nothing to turn any man's eye. Lauren's hair was so short she might have been mistaken for a boy from the back. She would have been pretty but for the disgusted look perpetually polluting her face.

_Why are they so impressed with themselves?_ Shrugging, I returned to my previous conversation, only to find them discussing an outing that was apparently "long overdue".

"So what do you think, Bella? Movies tomorrow?" Angela watched me expectantly. I thrilled inwardly at the thought of going out with people I actually liked. With a pang, I remembered that Jacob and I were supposed to go to the beach and see if we could find sand dollars to decorate our rooms. I pushed that to the back of my mind. _Jacob would understand, and besides, I haven't spent any time with these guys lately._

"Sure, that sounds great! Who all would be going?"

Mike quickly answered for the rest. "Well, we were thinking Angela and Ben, and you and me!" He watched me cautiously, with veiled excitement.

_You and me._ His wording did not escape me. _Does he ever give up? When will he figure out I don't hang out with guys alone?_ Except for… _Jacob._

I thought fast. "That sounds great! Oh, man, I just remembered… I'm supposed to hang out with my friend Jacob that night." I feigned sadness, and then brightened up. "Hey, do you think he could come too?"

"Yeah that would be great!"

"Oh, yeah, I'd like to meet him!"

Angela and Ben answered enthusiastically. Mike grimaced and gave a sideways nod.

"Then it's settled. Meet at my house?"

The rest of the day passed quickly and pleasantly. None of my teachers were evil enough to assign me homework over break, and the thought of going out with friends was simply uplifting. On top of that, I got to hang out with my school friends _and_ Jake!

I flounced in the house and started heading towards the phone to call him. However, as soon as I got within an arm's reach of the phone, it rang. I picked it up, smiling into the receiver.

"Hellooo, Swan residence, lady of the house speaking!"

I was rewarded for my cheerfulness by a solid five minutes of laughter. _Jake!_

When he had finally regained control of himself, he whispered into the phone, "It's time."

_It's time? _Then it hit me. _THE BIKES ARE READY!!_

"OKAYJAKEI'LLBERIGHTTHERE!" I yelled into the phone and slammed it back onto the cradle.

If my father hadn't been the chief of police in our little town, I most certainly would have gotten six or seven speeding tickets on my way to La Push. However, cops just recognized my truck and tattled on me later to my father. It was worth it today.

I screamed into Jake's driveway, barely stopping before I hit the house, spraying pebbles everywhere. Jake ran out and hugged me, picking me up and spinning me around.

"Looks like someone is excited." His husky whisper sent chills down my spine.

"Where are they?" I looked around frantically, hoping he hadn't just been pulling my leg.

"Follow me, milady." Jake bowed deeply, chuckled, and led me around behind the garage.

There, standing up against the dirty, paint-peeling wall of the shed were the two glossiest and prettiest motorcycles I had ever seen.

"Oh, Jake, they're beautiful!" I squealed with joy and hugged him again. "Which one's mine?"

"That one." He pointed at the smaller one on the left, painted a bright red. "If you'll look closely, you'll see that it's got you written all over it." He laughed again, eyes twinkling.

"What do you--" I broke off with a gasp. There, on the side of the frame, was a little painted swan with the name "Bella" airbrushed under it.

"Oh, Jake that's beautiful! Did you do that?"

He laughed. "I wish. Nah, Quil's really good with paint so I had him personalize both. See?"

He motioned to his, a little russet-colored wolf with the name "Jacob" under it.

Jacob Black was the best friend in the entire world.

"Come on, we'd better get going before Billy gets back." He looked furtively up the driveway. "He said he'd only be gone for an hour or two."

Jake loaded the bikes into the bed of my truck and we took off.

"Where am I going?" I couldn't think of a single place that we could ride safely without anyone seeing us.

"Just keep going straight. It's a little ways off." Jake smiled and leaned back, stretching his arm out across the seat.

We sat in comfortable silence for a while, both of us lost in our own thoughts. We drove past a long series of cliffs, frighteningly high above the choppy water. I saw some guys standing out on the edge, looking over.

_Man, they must be cold._

Suddenly, one of them took a running jump and leaped off the cliff. I slammed on the brakes, causing Jake to hit his head on the dash and start spewing obscenities.

"What the HELL, Bells? What gives?" He scowled and rubbed his forehead.

"One of those guys just jumped off the edge of that cliff!" I pointed wildly towards the scene. "We have to call 911! He might have died!"

Jacob scoffed lightly. "That's just the La Push gang, showing off. They're fine, don't worry. Sam is apparently some sort of god that can dive into freezing waters without any clothes." He frowned more deeply. "I can't stand them."

Something registered hazily in my brain. _The La Push gang.. _ I vaguely remembered Charlie mentioning them. A bunch of young guys, impressed with themselves. Not bad kids; they tried to protect the kids in La Push, but their methods were questionable. Apparently they had run a drug dealer out of the reservation before.

I looked back at Jake, who looked far too disgruntled to mildly dislike these kids.

"What is it Jake?" He looked at me, and then looked down.

"I've just never liked those guys. Quil and Embry and I always made it a point to avoid them. They really think they're something special, and the worst part is no one corrects them. Even the rez council meets with them." He fidgeted with a ragged edge of my gaping hole in the dash where the stereo used to be.

"Sam has always been really standoffish, like he's better than all of us. Embry especially wanted nothing to do with him. All of a sudden though, Embry stopped coming to school, and hanging out with Quil and I. We didn't see him for weeks, and the next time we did, he was hanging out with _those _ guys." He nodded disgustedly at the "La Push Gang".

"Now, Sam has started being nice to me. It's like he thinks I'm going to join his little gang next. I don't want to though. I don't want anything to do with them. I just want to hang out here with you and stay away from them. Embry wanted to stay away too though, and now look at him. Maybe they threaten or blackmail you, I don't know. I'm just afraid I'm going to end up like one of his disciples, parroting everything he says and ignoring my friends."

Jake suddenly looked like he was going to cry, and I realized how young he looked. Overwhelmed, I leaned across the cab of the truck and wrapped my arms around him.

"It's okay, Jake. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do." Trying to joke a little, I added "And if they try to force you, they'll have me to answer to."

Jake gave me a weak smile and pulled me closer. " I don't ever want to have to give up my friendship with you."

I shuddered at the thought. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Jake. I would be lost."

Jake pulled away suddenly and cupped my face in his hands. "Listen, Bella. I know when you were younger your parent's divorce hit you hard, and then moving here was rough, and I know you've had trouble since you've got here. I understand it is difficult for you to trust anyone, but you have to believe me when I say I will _never_ hurt you. I promise. As long as I live, I will do anything to avoid hurting you."

Looking into his eyes, I knew it was the truth. I swallowed hard and nodded.

Starting the truck back up, we continued down the road in almost complete silence. After a few minutes, Jacob motioned out his window.

"Here we are."

Up on the hillside was a large dirt path, looking like it climbed the hill and eventually looped back down. This was perfect!

Jake unloaded the bikes, and for the next half hour or so, proceeded to teach me everything I needed to know about riding a motorcycle. By the time he was finished, I felt confident enough to climb on. I of course fell over immediately, but after hopping on the second time, I felt sturdier.

I started the engine and felt the deep hum below me. _This is gonna be great!_

"Ready?" Jake yelled, muffled through his helmet.

"Yeah!" I hollered back, a thrill of excitement coursing through me.

_This is what you've been waiting for!!_

We roared off into the forest, probably going much slower than it felt like we were. I immediately fell in love with the sensation. My hair and my clothes were rippling in the wind, and the slightest lean to the right or left caused the bike to move. For once in my life, I felt totally in control. Jake pulled up beside me, and we rode side by side through the forest.

I had the time of my life.

After about an hour of riding, Jake waved for me to follow him. We pulled up into a small meadow; an oasis in the middle of the trees. We stopped and turned off our bikes, removing our helmets.

Opening up a luggage compartment I hadn't seen on his bike, Jake pulled out two sandwiches, a blanket, and a couple cans of grape soda.

"Normally with this kind of meal you would have a red wine, but I am unfortunately not of age." Jake kissed his fingers, imitating an Italian cook. "Voila!"

I collapsed on the ground, giggling. "Jake, that was the most awesome experience ever. I can't believe you put those bikes together from scratch!"

We munched on our sandwiches in the beautiful little meadow, and I was filled to the brim with happiness.

"So, you still up for combing the beach tomorrow? It's supposed to be a beautiful day!" Jake was stretched out on the blanket next to me, looking up hopefully.

"Well, I actually promised my friends I would go to the movies with them. I haven't been out with them in so long.." I trailed off, hating myself for the look on Jacob's face. He looked like a little puppy that had just been kicked.

"I told them I wanted to take you, though" I finished hurriedly. "Is that okay?"

Like a light being turned on in a dark room, Jake perked up immediately. "Sure! That sounds awesome! For a second there, I thought you ditched me."

I laughed. "As if, Jake. You know I'd rather spend my time with you than anyone else."

* * *

That night, I had a strange dream. We were all at the movies, except Mike and I were together, Angela and Ben were together, and Jake and Jessica were together. Mike and I were holding hands, but the whole time we were at the theater, all I could do was watch Jake and Jess. They were whispering to each other, laughing quietly, and cuddling. I felt like I was going to throw up as I watched them.

Mike wouldn't leave me alone, always asking me if I was okay, and sharing his excitement that I finally gave him a chance. I was hardly listening.

"When did Jessica and Jacob start dating?" I hoped it was only a couple days ago, and that they wouldn't stay together too long.

"Don't you remember? When we started dating, Jake finally gave up on you. I mean the kid was in love with you for so long…"

I woke up with tears on my face. I hadn't had a dream that vivid since Edward left. I made it halfway to the phone to call Jake when I looked at the clock. 3:30 am. He probably wouldn't appreciate my call. I shook my head and started back to bed, but I couldn't shake the desperate hopelessness that the dream had left.

I was suffering from some sort of internal battle. My heart was begging to be heard, but my brain determined that what it had to say was not important. After all, if I started to feel emotions again, real emotions, I could get hurt again. This time, I might not make it through.

I also didn't think I could make it through if Jake started dating someone else. I was stuck.

I drifted off to sleep again, hearing Mike's last words in my dream.

…_the kid was in love with you for so long…_

* * *

**JPOV**

I was so very excited. I had finally finished the bikes!!

Since my spring break started a couple days earlier than Bella's, I was able to spend the bulk of my days in the garage working while she was at school.

_She's gonna be so surprised._

As the piece de resistance, Quil and Embry were coming over to personalize the bike. A swan with the name Bella for hers, and a little wolf with the name Jacob for me. Quil was good at painting, and Embry said he could grab some little stencils from his mother to personalize the front of the bikes.

I heard crunching gravel behind me, and turned to see Quil by himself.

"Hey man. Where's Embry?"

Quil looked downcast and shrugged. "I haven't seen him in days, dude. Have you?"

Thinking back, I realized that I had been spending all of my free time with Bella, and hadn't even heard from Embry. I saw him once last week inexplicably hanging around Sam's group of thugs, but other than that I hadn't seen hide nor hair of him.

"Well, whatever. If he's gonna keep blowing us off, then screw him." I put on a false bravado to hide my concern for him.

Quil put on no such airs. "Jake, I'm really worried about him. He hated those assholes and now he's running with them and ignoring his best friends. That's not like him at all. Do you think they threatened him?"

I sat down heavily. "I dunno, man. My dad's on the council, and you know they meet with that gang. I told him I was worried about Embry and he told me to butt out." I shook my head. "I know he likes Embry, and I feel like if there was something really bad about those guys he'd tell me."

Quil didn't look reassured, but headed into the garage all the same. I smiled for the first time since he'd arrived. Time to get to work.

A couple hours later, I was back in my house, pacing. I knew when Bella got home from school, and I knew that calling any earlier than 3:15 was just stupid. No one would be home.

_5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Yes!_

I snatched up the phone and dialed her number. She picked up on the first ring.

"Hellooo, Swan residence, lady of the house speaking!"

I cracked up laughing, and was unable to breathe, let alone speak, for almost 5 minutes.

_God, I love her._ Hearing that thought in my head allowed me to mentally check myself, and start the conversation.

"It's time" I said in my huskiest, 1-900 number voice.

The other end of the line was quiet for a moment, and then she screeched "OKAYJAKEI'LLBERIGHTTHERE!!", all one word. _CLICK._

Well, so ends the world's shortest phone conversation.

I turned to leave, only noticing then that Billy had been sitting in the living room the whole time, observing the whole ordeal. He shook his head.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but you are the strangest teenage boy I've ever encountered. I'll be leaving now, see you in an hour or so." He wheeled himself out of the room.

I swear Bella must have broken the land speed record, because about ten minutes later she screeched to a halt inches away from my home. Her flushed cheeks and enormous smile told me she was way too excited to try to draw clear boundaries, so I ran out and gave her a bear hug, spinning her around. I noticed that she was trembling with excitement.

"Looks like someone is excited" She grinned and started searching around for the bikes, as if maybe I had lied to her.

Feeling euphoric and silly, I bowed. "Follow me, milady".

I led a giggling Bella around to the back of the garage, where my masterpieces were sitting patiently.

Bella gushed about the bikes for a little bit, hopping up and down and clapping and generally inflating my ego. "Which one's mine?"

_Aha, my love. If only you had looked closer._

I directed her to the part of the bike that proudly displayed her name. Despite the absence of Embry, Quil and I got along pretty well, and the finished product was one to be proud of.

For a second I thought she was going to cry, and then she threw her arms around me again, catching me off guard.

_This girl's gonna give me a heart attack, I swear. I'll die happy though._

I realized suddenly that Billy was only going to be gone for a little bit longer, so I said so.

"We'd better get going."

We loaded the bikes up and headed out. I didn't give her any directions, because I was curious to see how far she would go in her excitement before realizing she didn't have a clue where we were headed.

It took 1.4 miles.

"Where am I going?"

I smiled and pointed. "Just keep going straight. It's a little ways off." I stretched out comfortably in the cab of her truck and allowed my mind to wander.

_She would rather spend time with me than anyone else. What does that mean?_

_It means her friends suck._

_OR, it means that for some reason, I make her happier than anyone else._

_Yeah, or her friends suck._

I was back to where I always came to, the endless mental banter of whether or not Bella and I had potential. At least that asshole Cullen was gone. _Baby steps, Jake._

And then suddenly, my forehead became physically involved with her dashboard.

Looking back later, I'm sure I'll feel a little guilty for the profanity that came out of my mouth, but at the time, it was totally warranted.

"What the HELL, Bells?" Good thing I had an exceptionally hard head.

She pointed wildly to the cliffs, and said something unintelligible. I got the point, though.

Sam and his friends were cliff-diving again. I watched as Paul got a running start and swan-dived over the cliff. Looking at Bella's horrified expression, I figured it would be pretty awful if you didn't know that they were apparently infallible.

I explained my thoughts to her, but I guess my bitterness leaked through. She looked at me with concern.

"What is it Jake?"

I bit my lip, unwilling to expose myself to this kind of emotional conversation. I suddenly remembered Bella collapsing against my chest at the bonfire and spilling her heart out to me.

_She trusted me._

I began telling her everything, from being afraid of Sam and his gang to resenting the fact that the rez council takes his advice. I even told her about Embry and his sudden departure from my friendship. As I talked, I felt her concern for me, and I suddenly felt tears welling up in my eyes.

_Ahhh, smooth, Casanova. Now she's gonna pat your arm like her little brother and tell you everything will be okay._

I was brought back to myself by a small pair of arms around me.

"It's okay, Jake." I wrapped my arms around her, almost forgetting why I was upset to begin with.

I smiled a little and drew her closer. No one could calm me down like Bella could.

I voiced my biggest fear. "I don't ever want to have to give up my friendship with you."

Bella trembled against me. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Jake. I'd be lost."

Through the quavering of her voice, I could hear that this was the truth. Suddenly I was angry.

_Who is this Sam to think he can take me away from this life? I love this girl and I would never leave her. I'm not Cullen; hurting her isn't an option._

I pulled away and held her face, looking into her eyes. "Listen, Bella. I know when you were younger your parent's divorce hit you hard, and then moving here was rough, and I know you've had trouble since you've got here. I understand it is difficult for you to trust anyone, but you have to believe me when I say I will _never_ hurt you. I promise. As long as I live, I will do anything to avoid hurting you."

I looked into her eyes and implored her silently to believe me. I _needed_ her to believe me.

She swallowed and nodded. I could tell she believed me.

The rest of the drive was kind of quiet. I felt a new bond between us. It felt so nice to be close to her; I felt like I finally had a friend that I could tell anything.

By the time we got there, both of us had returned to our former excitement of motorcycle riding.

Bella looked up the hill with awe on her face. She turned to me with a smile. "Let's unload the bikes!"

I hauled them out of the truck and set them up. I then proceeded to teach Bella all the ins and outs of riding a motorcycle. Remembering that it was Bella, I focused more on safety than performance riding.

After I felt she was adept enough to not get too seriously injured, we mounted the bikes. Although Bella fell right off the first time, once she hopped on the second time, she looked rather comfortable. We donned our helmets, revving our engines.

"Ready?" I hoped she could hear me over the roar of the engines.

I didn't hear her response, but I caught her thumbs up.

_Let's do this!_

She took off first, and I was surprised at how well she was handling the bike. I stayed behind at first, just in case something happened, but after she started weaving in and out of trees I figured it was safe to pull up along side of her.

We rode side by side through the forest, sometimes racing, sometimes just enjoying the ride. I was having more fun than I ever had in my life. I couldn't forget the real exciting part, though.

I waved at Bella to follow me. She took the hint and fell in line behind my motorcycle.

_Ahh, she is going to love this._

I led her to a small meadow I'd discovered a few weeks ago when I was mapping out where it was safe for Bella and I to hike.

I opened a hidden luggage compartment on my bike and pulled out a blanket, some sandwiches and grape juice. _I wish I could have brought wine for the beautiful lady._

I decided to say that out loud, only stupider.

Bella dissolved into laughter and collapsed onto the ground. "That was the best experience ever, Jake!"

We ate our sandwiches in our little perfect meadow. I inhaled mine, of course. I was done and Bella was still nibbling on the edges of hers.

I laid down on the blanket next to her, and turned my face to hers. "So, you still up for combing the beach tomorrow? It's supposed to be a beautiful day!" I hoped with all my heart that she wanted to. I had big plans.

She thought we were just combing the beach, and we were. But I had been sitting on the beach a couple weeks ago, and I found a tiny sand dollar, somehow formed in the shape of a heart. I finally saved up enough money to get it put onto a necklace, and I wanted to give it to her in a really special way. I was considering placing it somewhere she'd find it easily, but I hadn't worked out all the kinks.

All I needed was for her to say…

"Well, I actually promised my friends I would go to the movies with them.." My face fell, and I felt like my heart was breaking a little bit.

_I went to all that trouble and she doesn't even want to see me? I guess it's a good thing she cancelled. She would have been freaked out anyway._

Bella saw my expression. "I told them I wanted to take you, though." She looked imploringly into my face. "Is that okay?"

I brightened. _This was great! I could hang out with her, and maybe her friends will see how great we are together. The sand dollar day can wait,_

"Sure! That sounds awesome! For a second there, I thought you ditched me." I breathed a huge mental sigh of relief. Not all was lost.

She laughed warmly. "As if, Jake. You know I'd rather spend my time with you than anyone else."

Nothing she could have said at that point could have made me happier.

* * *

_That was quite possibly the best day of my life._

I laid awake in bed for hours that night. I couldn't sleep.

_What if I wake up and find out I'm not the most important thing to her anymore? What if __**he**__ comes back?_

I eventually drifted off to sleep, surrounded by strawberry scented hair and thin, warm arms. Suddenly, the dream changed. It became inexplicably cold, and I felt a current of fear run through my caramel-haired fantasy. I became acutely aware of a velvety voice calling to her.

"Bella.."

_Who the hell…?_

"Bella, my love…"

Red eyes stared at me through the mist of my dream, and I awoke in a cold sweat.

I paced irritably in my room, no longer tired. I didn't know why the dream unnerved me so much, but it made me feel as if my world was trembling on the brink of destruction.

I picked up the phone and dialed half of Bella's number before I looked at the time. 3:30 am. I hung up the phone irritably. I still felt like I _needed_ to talk to her, but Charlie would never forgive me if he was rudely awakened by a hormonal teenage boy.

I threw myself back into bed, awaiting sleep to overtake me again. It didn't take as long as expected; I must have been tired.

_I'd rather spend my time with you than anyone else._

I woke up smiling the next morning.

* * *

A/N: I hope you're still all enjoying this; I know everyone's looking for some Jake-Bella romance, but I was never a fan of the fics where Bella rushes straight from Edward to Jacob's bed.

Anyway, please read and review, and I hope you're still enjoying my story!!


	6. Misconceptions BPOV

A/N: Wow, thank you all so much for the great reviews!! I'm kind of a review-whore, I love them and would be ever so happy if you would all keep them coming.

A special thanks to jayley, for reviewing almost all of my chapters! I really appreciate it!

In this chapter, Bella starts to come to terms with the fact that Jake is.. well, basically a god. But is it too late…?

Haha. We all know it's not.

This chapter will be short, and in two parts, just because I like the way it plays out with the song. The second part will be posted today as well though, never fear!

The song used in this chapter is "I won't say I'm in love" from Hercules. You might think I'm a dork… but I also write Twilight fanfic so I don't mind. :)

* * *

Chapter 6- Misconceptions

**BPOV**

I was losing my inner battle. I was plagued by dreams of Jacob all night, and I woke up feeling warm and fuzzy. I guess plagued is the wrong word; I thoroughly enjoyed them in my dream, and when I woke up I was horrified to discover that I got butterflies when I thought of seeing him tonight.

_I can't like him. Remember Edward? Do you want to be an empty shell again? And who will pick up the pieces? Mike Newton?_

I snorted out loud at that thought.

**If there's a prize for rotten judgement**

**I guess I've already won that**

**No man is worth the aggravation**

**That's ancient history, been there, done that**

_Jake isn't like that though. He is so sweet and kind, and even if he didn't feel that way about you he'd still be there. _

I tried to bring myself out of this doubt, remembering all of the times I'd caught him staring at me. _Maybe I had something in my nose? _I shook my head, irritated with myself.

_He loves you. And I… can't live without him._

**Who'd'ya think you're kiddin'  
He's the Earth and heaven to you  
Try to keep it hidden  
Honey, we can see right through you  
Girl, ya can't conceal it  
We know how ya feel and  
Who you're thinking of**

_Look at him though! He's so handsome.. I know Edward loved me, but that all started because he had an uncontrollable thirst for my blood. Jake's just a normal guy with normal needs. And he needs a hotter girl._

I considered. Was there a chance that I was only second guessing myself because of how attractive he had become over the last year? _Possibly._ Maybe I'm just hormonal teenage girl.

**No chance, no way  
I won't say it, no, no**

_Come on, Bella. You can't even fool yourself._ Jacob's smile floated to the surface of my memory, his warm eyes. No, I didn't love Jacob because of his incredible body or his dark, smooth skin, even though those were both great plusses. I loved Jacob Black because of the way he made me feel, the happiness that surrounded him like a palpable aura.

**You swoon, you sigh  
why deny it, uh-oh**

What would everyone think, though? Jumping right from one guy to another? _That's totally unlike me. The whole town will talk._

**It's too cliche  
I won't say I'm in love**

Yes, maybe I had feelings for Jake. Maybe I felt more strongly for him and more comfortable with him than anyone in my entire life. But the fact was, I wasn't ready to get hurt again, and there was no promise he could make to me that Edward hadn't already broken.

I headed downstairs to make myself some breakfast, my head swimming with confusion.

**I thought my heart had learned its lesson  
It feels so good when you start out  
My head is screaming get a grip, girl  
Unless you're dying to cry your heart out**

I looked at my bowl of Cheerios, suddenly not hungry anymore. If I really did have feelings for Jake, I should realistically make them known before someone else claimed him. I couldn't have been the only girl who had recently noticed his new developments, and it seemed like every girl on the La Push reservation was more beautiful than the last.

**You keep on denying  
Who you are and how you're feeling  
Baby, we're not buying  
Hon, we saw ya hit the ceiling  
Face it like a grown-up  
When ya gonna own up  
That ya got, got, got it bad**

We were supposed to all meet at my house before going to the movie, but I decided after breakfast that I would go down early. That was the perfect solution; getting him alone and seeing how I felt. If I felt interested, maybe we could talk a little about our feelings. If it doesn't seem to be going the way I intended (_aka_ _he shows no interest in me_) I could always pretend I just came down to see how his car is coming. _Perfect._ _This is so unlike me_. _I'll have an out if he's not interested._

**No chance, now way  
I won't say it, no, no**

I hopped in my truck, my heart beating a fast temp in my throat. With all the butterflies in my stomach, I should have been able to fly there.

**Give up, give in  
Check the grin you're in love**

I floored it and crossed the Forks town line. A grin slowly spread across my face. _Could this be that perfect? Could it really work out?_

**This scene won't play,  
I won't say I'm in love**

_I'm getting so nervous. What if I seem too enthusiastic and he gets scared off?_

La Push town limits. _I'm going to be there so soon!_

**You're doin flips read our lips  
You're in love**

I was starting to feel really sick. I used to get lightheaded around Edward, but never so nervous as I was now. I had never declared my feelings for someone like this. _Am I just getting carried away? _ Something deep inside told me that all that time in the garage had cultivated more than just a close friendship.

**You're way off base  
I won't say it  
Get off my case  
I won't say it**

I started to pull down his driveway, but at the first crunch of gravel I rethought. Slowly, I eased my truck onto the grass beside the driveway. _I want to surprise him._ The blinds were drawn and I smiled nervously. _There is no way he'll know I'm coming._

As I crept closer to the back of the house, I heard the front door swing open. My heart increased its rhythm tenfold as I heard Jake's laugh.

**Girl, don't be proud**

**It's O.K, you're in love**

He beckoned towards someone in the door.. Billy, maybe? He opened his arms and … a beautiful russet-skinned dark haired girl ran into them. My brain stopped. As I watched with a paralyzed heart, he laughed and spun her around. He set her down and said something to her. Looking into her eyes, he kissed her on the forehead.

_No. This can't be true. I can't live without him_.

I fought the urge to cry out to him.

Coming to myself slightly, I waited until she turned around and went to her car, waving goodbye tenderly to Jake. He retreated inside and I took my chance.

Throwing the car into reverse and being vaguely thankful that I had the foresight to park on the grass, I flew backwards up the driveway and out of La Push. Once I had crossed the Forks border, I fell against the steering wheel and broke down entirely.

_I should have known._

**At least out loud, I won't say I'm in…**

**Love.**

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A/N: Okay, I'm done with the first half!! Please don't hate me, I promise Jake's POV will be up by the end of the day… at least Bella knows what she wants now ;)


	7. Misconceptions JPOV

A/N: Here it is! Hopefully you all haven't removed me from your favorites and alerts yet ;)

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Chapter 6- Misconceptions

**JPOV**

I woke up early on Saturday, feeling a little off. I couldn't put my finger on exactly why until I remembered my dream from the last night. _Ugh. Like I wanted to see Cullen ever again._

I shook it off and headed towards the bathroom. Once again, I couldn't help stopping in front of the mirror and checking myself out.

I hadn't put a shirt on yet, and I almost couldn't believe I was looking at myself in the mirror instead of an Abercrombie model or some shit. I had never been fat by anyone's standards; actually, I used to be a skinny kid with long hair. Now I had pecs, abs, strong arms and massive shoulders. That probably surprised me the most, the shoulders part. I always had potential to put on muscle, but never had a big frame. It seemed like all the parts of my body had lengthened, broadened, and added muscle without any help from me at all.

Like usual, I shrugged and chalked it up to God smiling on me for being a good kid. After all, didn't I take care of my dad? Not that it was a huge imposition or anything, but I figured I deserved some sort of treat for that.

I sauntered to the bathroom and took my time brushing my teeth, showering, washing my face, and shaving. I had to look good today… I was going on an _almost_ date with Bella.

I smirked. _Wait til I put the moves on her tonight. _Actually, I wasn't planning on putting any moves on her. I had decided that since the weather was usually too awful to do any sort of beach combing, I was going to give her the necklace tonight when she took me home. _After that joker Newton clears off._

Hopefully a necklace in the shape of a heart would be enough to spark _some_ sort of romantical talking, and hopefully I would have the balls to continue it.

Although I was getting dressed about 5 hours before she was even due to pick me up, I went into my room and critically assessed my options. I didn't have too many nice clothes; I wasn't used to having someone to impress. I dug into the back of my closet and found a white button up shirt. My mom always told me to wear light colors when you want to impress a girl with your dark skin, so I shrugged and pulled it on.

_Wow, I look like a Mormon. _I unbuttoned the top couple buttons, exposing the top of my chest.

_Couldn't have worn a shirt like this six months ago_. I chuckled to myself.

I decided on a pair of dark jeans that fit snug in all the right places and looked at myself again in the mirror. Everything seemed to fit better nowadays, and as I tied my hair back in a ponytail I thought I looked pretty good.

"Jake, you wanna come on out here?" Billy was in the kitchen from the sound of it. "We seem to have a visitor."

_Bella? Already? _My heart did a somersault and I silently thanked God that I had gotten dressed early.

I came out of my bedroom with a huge smile on my face, only to be greeted by an equally big smile on an equally dark face.

"Amy!!" I ran forward and gave her a huge hug, hearing her giggle. Amy was my cousin on my mom's side, and my favorite relative aside from my dad.

Amy was beautiful, about a foot shorter than me with waist-length black hair and deep brown eyes. As long as I could remember, she always had a smile on her face.

I used to idolize her a little when I was a child. She was so pretty, and always so nice to me. When my sisters would torment me, she would never give in and join them. I remember one time, Rachel pushed me in the mud, and I started to cry. Instead of laughing with my sisters, Amy came over and wiped the mud off my face. "They're just jealous cause I'd rather hang out with you more."

We all sat down at the kitchen table and made small talk for a little, catching up with extended family business. We hadn't heard from my mom's sister in a long time, and Amy was anxious to talk about her mom.

After a couple cups of coffee and some family gossip, Billy leaned back in his wheelchair and folded his arms. "So what brings you here, Amy?"

She smiled mischeviously, and then burst out "Oh, I can't contain it anymore. I'm getting married!"

I jumped up and hugged her again, while Billy reached out to take her warmly by the hand. "We're so very happy for you, Amy. When can we expect to go to the wedding?"

Amy beamed. "It's next September, the 15th." She glanced at Billy and then shot me a devilish grin. "From what I've been hearing through the grapevine, though, you and your lady might beat me to it."

I grinned. "Well, it does appear that things will be moving in a romantic direction."

_Bella.. in a wedding dress, walking towards me as I waited at the altar.. flowers in her hair, with a smile on her face.. a smile just for me.._

Maybe I had just been thinking about her, but I could have sworn I heard the familiar crunch of gravel signaling her arrival.

I started to run outside, hearing Amy say in the background, "Yeah, I'd better be heading out too. I'll see you later Billy!"

I stopped on the porch, but her truck definitely wasn't in the driveway. _Darn._

Seeing Amy come out, I opened my arms. "Give me a hug before you leave!"

She laughed and ran into them, and I spun her around. I cupped her face and said, "Ame, I am so happy for you. You're gonna make him one happy man." I kissed her on the forehead. She grinned and started to walk away. "Keep in touch, cuz!" She waved at me and climbed in her car.

I went back into the house, happy but a little disappointed. I had really thought I heard Bella's truck. _Dang. Now I have to wait another couple hours._

As I sat in the living room flipping through channels, the phone rang. "Got it!" Billy wheeled himself into the kitchen.

"Hello?"

He listened.

"Oh hi. Is everything okay?"

Billy's face drew in slightly with concern.

He glanced at me. "Sure, I'll tell him. Get well soon!"

I looked over. "Who was that, Dad?"

Billy frowned more deeply. "That was Bella. She said she was sick and couldn't make it to the movie tonight, and apologized. She's already called the other kids, and it's postponed."

_NO!_

Billy turned to face me. "She was either congested or crying pretty hard, son. You should probably take her some chicken soup or something." He looked at me meaningfully. "She sounded like she needed it."

Before he had finished, I was halfway out the door. _Bella crying? I'm not letting her slip by me again._

The drive to Forks was much longer than it has ever been. _Did I do something? Is she mad at me? Did I hurt her?_ The thought turned my insides cold. _I __**promised**_**.**

Skidding to a stop in front of her house, I turned off Billy's car and hopped out. I walked to her front door, feeling more nervous than I ever had in my life. I put my hand in my pocket and clutched the sea dollar necklace.

Taking a deep breath, I rang the doorbell.

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A/N: See, Jake still loves her! Next chapter…. Will they finally admit their feelings? Wait and see Oh, and review please ;)


	8. Awakening

A/N: I hope you all are still reading! Jake is not a scumbag, please don't worry! That chapter was mostly for Bella to realize what Jake meant to her (and because I didn't like the scene in the book where they go to the movies). Anyway, please continue reading! And don't hate meeee

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Chapter 7- Awakening

_Well Bella, welcome to Pathetic Rejection Town again. Population? You. Again._

I had called everyone, telling them I had the stomach flu so I wouldn't have to face Jake tonight at the movies. Wow, I really am pathetic. I had called Billy and Jake's last because I was afraid Jake would answer. Luckily, Billy was apparently closest to the phone.

_Jake was probably still off with that girl. _My bitter thoughts were almost overwhelming. The problem was, I didn't even have room to be mad. I had ignored him as a love interest for so long that he probably had no choice but to move on. _Move on with a girl sixty times hotter than me. _

After laying in my bed for a few minutes crying my heart out and generally feeling sorry for myself, I heard the doorbell ring. Charlie wasn't home, and I was in no mood to accept any visitors. More than likely, Mike Newton had jumped into action as the hero and was coming over to rub my back and bring my glasses of water. The thought made me actually feel a little like I had the stomach flu.

Assuming the unwanted visitor had gone away, I rolled over until my face was in my pillow and cried. Realizing that I was crying harder than I did when Edward left, I flew into a whole new dimension of hysteria, because I had let go of the best thing that could have ever happened to me.

My bed creaked next to me, and before I could freak out, a warm pair of arms wrapped around me.

_Jake!_

"Bella, honey, what is wrong?"

I cried harder, knowing that he still cared about me. _Why couldn't he hate me the way I hated myself?_

"Bells, talk to me." He turned me over and wiped my tears away. My face was hot under his hands from my hysteria, and I immediately tried to turn back over. I must have looked an absolute mess.

"Bells, don't. Please talk to me. Did I do something?" He looked about ready to cry himself, and that pushed me over the edge. I had been hiding things from him for too long. Finally, I threw my pride to the wind.

"It's just… I saw you.. with that … girl." I choked out. "I want you… to be happy but.. I cant live … without you!" I dissolved into tears again. "I'm sorry!" I blubbered.

Jake held me away from him, looking at me strangely. I started crying again, knowing instantly that I never should have said anything. I'd ruined every chance of friendship we still had.

All of a sudden, he pulled me to his chest. "Bells, that was Amy, my cousin."

I stopped breathing for a moment. _Cousin?!_

"But.. you looked so happy.. like you were… in.." _Love. _ I couldn't finish the sentence.

Jake pulled me closer. "She's getting married, Bells. We were all excited."

Stroking my hair, he paused for a moment. "And… I am in love."

I looked up. _With your cousin?_

Jake took a deep breath. "I love you, Bells."

My brain exploded. In the course of one day, I realized that I was in love, worked up the courage to tell him, thought I'd lost him forever, and then listened to him profess his love to me.

It was too much.

I buried my head in his chest and cried.

"Bells, if you don't feel the same way, it's alright. I still want to be there for you, I want to spend time with you. I promise I'll never mention it again. But if you would give me a chance, I promise I'll make you happier than you ever have been before. I'll be by your side and everything will be perfect. I just need to know, Bells." His voice shook on the last part.

Finally regaining enough control to emerge from his chest, I took a few deep breaths to calm my breathing. I hiccupped.

"I love you, Jacob. I think I always have."

His eyes burned. "Don't say it if you don't mean it, Bells."

"I love you Jake. Please give me the chance to prove it to you."

He gazed deeply into my eyes. _How could I have never noticed how beautiful his eyes were before? They're the most breathtaking part about him._

He leaned forward slowly, gauging my response. I would have leaned toward him, but I was frozen in place. _He's perfect._

I closed my eyes and felt his warm lips cover mine. His kiss was gentle, and I molded into him. As our mouths moved together, I savored every sensation. I had never felt like this before.

He pulled my face closer to his, increasing the urgency of the kiss. I responded energetically, exhilarated that I could kiss a man like this without him trying to break away. As we got closer, I started to notice something other than the euphoric feelings surrounding me. He was..

"Jake, you're burning up!" I broke off the kiss, almost gasping for air. I put my hand to his forehead and pulled back almost instantly. "You need to get to a doctor!"

Jake took a couple shaky breaths. "I can't tell if I feel weird because I'm sick or if I'm just on Cloud 9." He laid back onto my bed, smiling enormously. I laid down with my head on his shoulder, marveling at how I fit so perfectly into his arms. Not like lying against a chunk of rock. Jake was soft and firm all at the same time, and most definitely alive.

After laying like that for a few minutes, he sat up suddenly. "I think you're right, Bells. I'm not feeling too well. I'd better head back to the rez." He held my hands and looked into my eyes. "I love you, Isabella Swan."

Though my heart warmed at his words, I frowned. "Can I drive you?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'll be fine. Plus, I took my dad's old car and we both know how good you are at driving a standard." He grimaced and stroked my hair. "I'd best get going. I'll call you when I get back."

He kissed my forehead, and before I could say anything else, ran out of the room and down the steps. When I heard the engine start, I looked out the window. As he drove away, I watched him until I couldn't make out the shape of his car anymore.

I laid back in my bed and stayed awake, feeling like I was floating up to heaven.

_I loved him. He loved me._

Nothing could go wrong.

The euphoric feeling started to wear off about an hour later, when I started to worry about him. He still wasn't home?

I drifted off into a troubled sleep, surrounded by warm arms and worries.

I woke up early the next morning and looked at the clock. 6:45 am.

_He still hadn't called.

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_

**JPOV**

No one was answering. I knew she was there, because she was "sick", and besides, I saw her little light on in her bedroom. I was out of options. Charlie was obviously working late, since I didn't see the cruiser anywhere around, and it wasn't looking like she was going to answer the door. _Okay, time to be sneaky._

I tested the knob. _Open!_

I crept inside, feeling half like a creep and half like a burglar. I heard noises from her bedroom as I snuck up the steps, and I stopped. My heart dropped to my stomach. _Does she have another guy in there?_ If that was the case, I couldn't just bust in on her like that. I'd also have to pretend I wasn't upset the next time I saw her, because I obviously wasn't supposed to know.

Suddenly, I recognized the noise as Bella crying. _Well, that's my cue. _

I tiptoed up the remainder of the steps and peeked through her door. She was lying on her stomach, crying into her pillow like she'd lost her best friend.

_Well, that saying sucks. She'll always have me._

I walked over to her bed and sat down next to her, wrapping my arms around her.

"Bella, honey what is wrong?" From my limited knowledge of the female persona, I couldn't come up with a single reason why she would be crying her eyes out by herself when she was supposed to be out with her friends. _Did he contact her?_ I felt something like a growl building deep inside my chest, but I forced it away. _Don't get mad. She's most important right now._

"Bella, talk to me." I flipped her over easily, smoothing the matted hair from her face and wiping away her tears. She looked like she had been crying for hours; her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were flushed, but to me she looked more beautiful than ever. All I wanted was to cheer her up. She tried to turn around, towards the bed.

_Away from me._

"Bells, don't. Please talk to me. Did I do something?" I felt emotion building up inside of me. Why would she be mad at me? I fought back tears as I tried to turn her around again.

"Oh, Jake!" Collapsing onto me, she bawled into my chest. "It's just… I saw you.. with that … girl." She tried to regain control of herself, and failed miserably. "I want you… to be happy but.. I cant live … without you!". She burst into tears, pressing herself against me. "I'm sorry!"

_She saw the girl...?_ Comprehension dawned on me. _Amy!_

I stared at her, not willing to believe what I was hearing. _She would be upset if I were with another girl?_

Apparently taking my silence as some sort of statement of my hatred or disgust, she started crying again. Tears streamed down her face. Right then, I hated myself for causing her this pain.

I pulled her close to me and held her against my chest. "Bells, that was my _cousin_, Amy."

I waited for her reaction. I felt her holding her breath. _What else do I have to say?_

She sniffled. "But.. you looked so happy.. like you were… in.." She didn't finish the sentence, but I could hear her last word as if she had spoken it. _Love._

_I AM IN LOVE!!_ I was screaming to myself in my head, but ended up not having the balls to say it.

"She's getting married, Bells. We were all excited."

I stroked her hair, and feeling her so close to me gave me strength to say the one thing I had never been able to.

"And.. I am in love." I almost couldn't sit still in anticipation of what could happen next.

She looked up at me, obviously confused. _God, I can't believe I'm doing this. _

"I love you, Bells."

She stared at me, and the seconds crept by. Her expression changed and she threw herself back into my chest, crying harder than ever, pulling me to her.

_Shit._

"Bells, if you don't feel the same way, it's alright. I still want to be there for you, I want to spend time with you. I promise I'll never mention it again. But if you would give me a chance, I promise I'll make you happier than you ever have been before. I'll be by your side and everything will be perfect. I just need to know, Bells." I could feel myself losing my tenuous grip on my emotions and self control.

_Cards on the table. Now it's up to her._

She turned her face up, taking several deep breaths. _Don't cry, Jake. Just take what she says and make it out of here alive._

"I love you Jake. I think I always have."

Unwilling to believe what I had just heard, I fought back tears and the lump in my throat. _Love? Like a brother?_

"Don't say it if you don't mean it, Bells." My voice sounded gravelly with the concealed emotion.

"I love you Jake. Please give me the chance to prove it to you." Her eyes burned bright, and looking deep into them, I knew she was telling the truth.

My heart did a backflip, a cartwheel, and a barrel roll all at the same time. My whole body burned, and my skin began to tingle. This was the most incredible moment of my life, and I swore to the God above that if Billy woke me from this dream to make him breakfast, I would crawl under the bed and die.

All these thoughts and feelings occurred in about one second. I know this because the next second, I was kissing her.

My mind went totally blank. All I could think, feel, taste, and smell was Bella. Her arms were all around me in a gentle embrace, and our lips were melded together in a way that felt like they should never be apart.

I shifted my weight and pulled her closer, feeling her press her lips harder against mine. I opened my mouth slightly and allowed my tongue to dance across her bottom lip. When she did the same, I thought I would burst into flames.

_Don't get turned on Jake, don't get turned on. _

I didn't get the chance to think past that. Bella broke the kiss with a worried look on her face.

"Jake, you're burning up!"

I laughed shakily. I wasn't sure if I was sick or just in love. Don't they have similar symptoms?

I laid back onto her bed, pulling her with me, and for a few glorious minutes she and I were one person, reaffirming my belief of the last 12 years or so that we were made for each other.

I gradually began to recognize feeling in my body, and suddenly realized that something wasn't right. I _was_ burning up, shaking, sore, and just generally felt weird. I sat up.

"I think you're right, Bells. I'm not feeling too well. I'd better head back to the rez." Seeing that she wasn't pleased by this, and rejoicing inwardly that she wanted me to stay so badly, I grabbed her hands and looked into her eyes. "I love you, Isabella Swan."

She smiled fleetingly and then frowned. "Can I drive you?"

My body temperature seemed to rise a couple degrees. I let her down easy with some excuse about a manual transmission. If I had something contagious, I didn't want her to get it.

Pain shot through my limbs and I grimaced. "I'd best get going. I'll call you when I get back." I kissed her on the top of the head and rushed out. _Please don't let me puke in her room_.

I was in so much pain I almost couldn't see on the way home; it was lucky I'd driven those roads so many times I could have made it in my sleep.

I staggered through the door, leaning against the doorframe. Billy wheeled over. "Son? What's wrong?!"

I gazed at him through unfocused eyes. "I think I'm dying." My words were slurred. "I need to sleep."

I barely made it to my room before collapsing on the bed. I hurt head to toe, and was so hot I almost couldn't breathe. I heard him dialing a number in the other room.

"Sam? I need you here right now."

Silence.

"Yes, it's Jake. Immediately, please!"

_What the fuck, Billy? Don't bring that mother—_

I groaned in pain. _Am I really dying?_

I hardly slept that night. I heard people coming in and out of the house, but it seemed to be from quite a distance and I didn't really care. The only thing that kept me sane was thinking of Bella and our night. _I didn't even give her the necklace_.

It would be okay. If I made it through the night, I would survive, because I would see her tomorrow.

That's all that mattered.

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A/N: Well, I hope you all are happy!! I probably won't write another chapter til next week because IT'S CHRISTMAS!!

So, this is my gift to you. Jacob and Bella love. Merry Christmas everyone!


	9. Heartbreak

A/N : Bella's POV is really short. After all, what is her life without Jake? ;)

Chapter 8- Heartbreak

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**BPOV**

Two weeks had passed since I acknowledged my love for Jake.

He still hadn't called.

I had spoken to Billy every single day since Jake left. I had even gone so far as to drive down there, but when I arrived, I was met by (_of all people)_ Sam, wearing a sympathetic face and telling me that I just couldn't see him.

_He's not well, Bella._

I wanted to scream at Sam and push him aside, storming into Jake's room. _What gives YOU the right to see him?? He doesn't love you. He loves me! _I knew he wanted to see me. I could practically feel his anguish at being apart from me for so long. I prayed that it wasn't just my emotions overwhelming me.

_He told me he loved me._

And I believed him. I wasn't sure what was wrong with Jake, but I knew it wasn't "mono" like Billy kept telling me. I kept telling Billy that whatever Jake had, I had already been exposed to it. Every time, I got a resolute and seemingly disinterested "brush-off". It was starting to really piss me off.

At two weeks and one day, I decided that I had finally had enough. I would go down to Jake's house and find a way to sneak around Sam. Billy would be easy; I mean the poor guy was in a wheelchair after all. I would see Jake, and no matter how sick he was, everything would be okay. I decided that early morning would probably be best, since Jake never seemed to get up before 11 anyway. There would be no need for the La Push sentries, and I would be able to see the man I loved. At last.

I planned out my mission, every detail perfect, down to the shoes I would be wearing in case I had to jump over something. Like a wheelchair.

_God forbid_.

I knew it was stupid. I knew it was borderline obsessive. I couldn't help it.

_Love makes you do crazy things._

_

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**JPOV**

I woke up suddenly, my bed drenched in sweat. Sam was standing over me. "How are you feeling, Jacob?"

His voice was deep and calm. For some reason, this pissed me off. A lot.

I had never been so angry in my life. _Why the hell did this happen to me? Life was perfect for 10 fucking minutes and then this. I'm bedridden with the black plague with the head of the La Push gang standing over me like he actually gives a shit._

I began to tremble uncontrollably. Although I was still angry as hell, I started to get a little scared. _What if I really am sick? I've never felt like this before._

"Calm down, Jake." Sam stared into my eyes. " You need to calm down."

_FUCK YOU!_ I started to shake harder, becoming more angry by the second and losing my fear. I was vaguely aware of Billy in the corner of the room, his eyes wide. I didn't care.

I started to stand up, shaking so hard that my floorboards started to separate.

"Billy, get out of here! Now!" Sam turned back to me with his hands out. "Jake, get control of yourself!"

That was it. _Don't come in here acting like a god, and then have the balls to boss my father around in his own house. You're done_.

I started to lunge towards Sam, and in the next second felt myself heaved bodily through the window onto the gravel outside. I had a split second in my anger to recognize that Sam, who was strong but much smaller than me, had just heaved me through my own bedroom window.

I snapped.

I felt all of my body parts explode at once. First pain, then burning, and then an odd tingling. I found myself on my hands and knees, looking at the ground. _Hands..?_

I had paws. I reared up, trying to scream, but all that came out was a guttural howl.

_WHAT THE FUCK?!?!_

_Jacob, calm down._ I heard Sam's authoritative voice in my head, and although I didn't know how, I inexplicably began to settle down.

"Aroooo!" I tried to ask what the hell was going on, but found that I couldn't form words.

A midnight-black wolf emerged tentatively from behind a tree and bowed its head, as if in submission. Something in its eyes was very familiar to me.

_Just think what you want to ask. I can hear you._

_Sam?_

_Yes. This is my form when I am phased. _He trotted over and sat down in front of me.

_This has to be some kind of fucked up dream._ I laid down on the ground, hoping to wake up.

_It's not, Jake. _

_Hey, Jake._ A new but familiar voice sounded in my head. _Embry…?_

_Yeah, man, it's me. It's gonna be okay, I promise._

I looked wildly around, and in my terror I still noticed something different. I could see _everything._ And what I couldn't see, I could smell. I was acutely aware of every living thing in the forest. Although it was still a distance off, I could see the form of a large grey wolf approaching me.

I whimpered and tried to hide my bulk behind a tree. _I don't want to die, Sam!_

_You're not going to die, Jake. I promise. The large grey wolf is Embry. When you feel ready, I'll lead you to some water so you can see what you look like. _

_I look like that?_

The large grey wolf _(Embry??)_ was now close enough for me to smell. Its tongue lolled out in a wolfy grin.

_Well, sorta. I'm grey and you're this ugly-ass reddish brown color. You're also bigger, sort of like those wolves in the second Lord of the Rings movie. Those real weird ones._

_Silence, Embry._ The grey wolf closed its mouth and sat down dejectedly.

_Jake, what I'm about to tell you is very important. You're not going to believe me immediately, but I hope your recent transition to a wolf will help to solidify my story._

_Sam, what the hell are you-- _He silenced me with a look.

_Do you remember the old Quileute legends?_

I nodded my enormous head, too afraid to speak.

_They're all true._ He allowed me to absorb this information for a moment before continuing.

_Do you remember the Cullens? _

_Ha. As if I could forget._ In my mind, pictures started to blossom. Pale Bella looking like she had her heart ripped right out, laughing Bella in the meadow, warm Bella next to me in bed…

_Dude, we can see all your thoughts. I'd complain more but she's pretty hot._ Wolf-Embry's tail wagged enthusiastically.

_You can see my..?_ Sam cut me off.

_Yes, but we'll get to that later. The Cullens, called for generations "the cold ones", are bloodsuckers. Vampires._

My mind did a somersault. _Vampires are.. real?_ In different circumstances, I would have probably used some choice words, punched Sam in the face, and left in a hurry. However, standing on four legs with a tail didn't leave much room for doubt. I froze. _Bella… knew?_

_Yes, Jake. They're very real, and she was well aware of what they are. As far as vampires go, though, she was relatively safe. The Cullens are peaceful vampires, only feeding off of the blood of animals, but if they are in Forks, then we wolves start to come out of the woodwork. Do you remember what we are called in the legends?_

I tried to kickstart my brain. _Protectors?_

_That's right, Jake. We only exist because they do. Turning into a wolf is called phasing. If there were no more vampires, we would cease to phase. Our purpose is to protect humanity from these monsters._

_As I'm sure you've noticed, over the last few months your body has been going through some pretty significant changes. You've grown taller, stronger, and put on a significant amount of muscle. Physically speaking, you're about 25 years old and in peak physical condition. You are a vampire-killing machine, and although we haven't had any problems with them in years, you and Embry beginning to phase must mean something._

I tried to gather my thoughts. _So I basically am a werewolf?_ I couldn't believe I actually considered that a legitimate question.

_Yes, Jake. None of the full moon or silver bullet stuff applies, but in a broad sense you are a werewolf. A man that changes into a wolf._

_Why me?_

Sam sighed in my thoughts. _You are a direct descendant of our first chief. He himself was a wolf. The blood runs strong in your family, and although it skipped a generation with your father, we have been expecting you to show signs ever since Embry began phasing. With the violence of your first phase, we have reason to believe that the only thing that took you so long was your propensity to be happy. When you're not trained, it's easier to phase when you're mad._

I asked the most urgent question in my mind. _Am I going to be like this forever?_

If wolves could frown, Sam did. _I don't know. You can phase back and forth between human and wolf form. That will get easier with time. However, when your body is actively phasing, you don't age. If the vampire threat stays around, you could be at this age forever. You will be a wolf as long as it takes to get rid of them._

I sat down heavily on the ground. _What a nightmare._

_Hey, it's not that bad. I mean I've been getting all kinds of chicks with my new bod._ Embry let out a barking laugh.

_I'm really going to get sick of this mind reading thing._ Actually, I already was._ Can I go to bed?_

_Yes. First, you need to phase back. Just concentrate on something that makes you happy, let go of your anger, and focus on your human form._

_Well this is easy. Bella. _Trying to ignore the fact that they could all see what I was seeing, I concentrated on holding her in my arms. _You need to have arms to hold her, buddy._

Soon, I was crouched on all fours, definitely human, and definitely naked. Sam was putting on a pair of sweats he had tied around his ankle.

"That's one more thing, Jake. You can't see Bella, or tell her about our secret."

My heart felt like it collapsed in my chest. "Can't.. see Bella?" I croaked out.

"No, Jake. It's not safe for her, and not smart for you. Imagine what would happen if she found out what you really are."

Accepting defeat, at least temporarily, I slunk off to bed. This had been the absolute worst day of my life. _I miss Bella._

Over the next couple weeks, I learned more than I ever had in my life. I practiced phasing, and learned how to control it and even learned how to phase on call. I attended council meetings and learned all of the Quileute legends, and finally understood Sam and his "gang".

I no longer hated them; I respected Sam and understood why he seemed so standoffish. How could you get close to someone when half of your life was wrapped up in being a werewolf?

Considering the circumstances, I was pretty happy. I had three new friends, Sam, Paul, and Jared, and I had my old best friend back, Embry. I felt a pang of remorse when I thought of Quil all by himself, but Sam assured me that he was starting to show signs as well. He would soon be one of us.

Aside from occasionally not being able to control my rage, the only thing that made this situation disagreeable was that I was not allowed to see my Bella. Sam told me that I was not to seek her out, and although I had tried, I found myself unable to disobey him.

He explained that this was because he was Alpha, head of the pack. Everyone in the pack must follow his commands, unless they are totally unwarranted or unnecessarily endanger our lives.

I couldn't understand why I couldn't see Bella. Surely I could at least tell her I love her so she doesn't worry!

I brought this up to Sam after a couple weeks, when I felt comfortable enough to approach him. He sighed heavily. "Jake, I have to tell you something that is difficult for me to say, but it will bring clarity to your situation."

I sat down, interested. Sam didn't share personal stories unless it was necessary.

"Do you know the story behind Leah and I?"

I nodded uncomfortably. "Just that you guys were pretty serious and then you dumped her for her cousin." I looked down. _That sounded kind of like I was accusing him._

Sam nodded sadly. "I was in love with Leah. But there is a phenomenon associated with phasing called 'imprinting'."

I looked up with interest. _Imprinting_?

Sam took a deep breath. "Imprinting means that you find your soulmate. No one understands why this happens, but it does. Some of us never imprint, and some imprint immediately after phasing for the first time."

He looked into my eyes for the first time. "We can't control who we imprint on, nor we can control how we feel about them. When we imprint, we mold ourselves to become whatever the other person needs. No one could ever reject their imprint; it's a natural match."

He looked down again. "That's what happened with Emily and I. It was the first time I'd ever met her, but I knew she was it. The room spun around me, and she was the only one in it. I love her more than anything. I loved Leah, but there was no way I could deny my imprint."

He grasped my shoulders, staring into my eyes. "That's why you can't see Bella. What if it happened to you? What if you loved her with all your heart, married her, and then met your imprint 5 years down the road? It would hurt you, but it would kill her." He broke his gaze. "It killed Leah."

My eyes filled with tears. I couldn't help it. _I couldn't ever fall in love with anyone else. She is the one for me!_

"I love her, Sam" My voice cracked with emotion.

Sam's eyes were full of understanding. " I know you do, Jake. But you have to think of her. If you imprint, it will destroy her. If you got too mad when you were around her, you could phase and hurt her." He closed his eyes in pain. "No one knows that better than me."

I cocked my head, curious. _Leah wasn't disfigured._

"That's a story for another time." Sam turned away slightly, swiping his hand under his eyes.

"Anyway, Jake, I know how you feel. I really do. Unfortunately, my decision stands. You can't see her." He clapped me on the shoulder and left me to my thoughts.

I sat down heavily on my bed, putting my head in my hands. _If I can't see Bella, none of this is worthwhile._

I collapsed backwards, falling into a fitful sleep. I hadn't been sleeping well since I hadn't been able to see her.

I awoke to the sound of loud, angry voices in the early morning.

"I don't care what he said to you, you're NOT SEEING HIM!" I sat up, mildly frightened. I had never heard Billy raise his voice like that.

The next voice made my heart stop. "To hell with you, Billy! Our families might be close, but Jake and I are more than close. If he didn't want to see me, you should have put him on the goddamn phone so he could tell me. Now get the HELL out of my way!"

_Bella..?_

I heard the screech of rubber wheels being pushed backwards, something that might have been a chair being knocked over, and then my door flew open.

The world stopped turning.

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A/N: Well, I was supposed to go out of town for Christmas, but the weather was really bad so I decided to write some fic instead haha. This is just way too much fun.

Hope you liked it! : )


	10. Beginnings

A/N: well, here it is! Chapter 9 with all the answers! A short chapter, but still very important nonetheless. Just a forewarning, I changed the rating on the story back to M, because I'm feeling some _intimacy_ in the next few chapters… might want to keep an eye out ;)

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Chapter 9- Beginnings

**BPOV**

I drove down to Billy's the next morning with a frown on my face and a scheme in my mind. I was going to see Jake today no matter what.

Since it seemed to work pretty well last time, I pulled down the side of the driveway on the grass. _No need to alert Billy. He might call the Almighty Sam._

I snuck around the back of the house to the front porch, carefully peering through the window. Jake's door was shut, and from what I could see, it was just Billy at the table.

I took a deep breath and knocked.

Billy answered the door, his face hardening when he saw me. "Bella. We told you not to come here. "

Swallowing my hesitation at mouthing off to Billy, my dad's best friend, but seeing Jake was more important. I steeled myself.

"Listen, Billy, I need to see him. Jake has never not called me, and I'm getting this awful feeling that he's being involuntarily kept away from me." My voice started to rise. "He loves me, Billy. And I love him. It's not fair to either of us to keep him away."

Billy planted himself firmly between me and the open door. "I know you might think he has feelings for you, but Jake is a young guy. Maybe he got caught up in the heat of the moment. The bottom line is, we all know it's for the best if you just stay away. Have a good day, Bella."

He started to push the door closed, but I stopped it with my hand. "I'm not just imagining things, Billy. He _told_ me he loved me. And I'm seeing him."

I started opening the door again, and Billy's face turned an ugly purple color. "I don't care what he said to you, you're NOT SEEING HIM!" I had never seen him angry like this, and it only served to incense me more.

"To hell with you, Billy! Our families might be close, but Jake and I are more than close. If he didn't want to see me, you should have put him on the goddamn phone so he could tell me. Now get the HELL out of my way!" I pushed him aside roughly, causing his wheels to screech against the hardwood floor. I ran across the kitchen before he could call Sam or whoever, upending a few chairs in the process.

_If I make it to Jake's room, it will all be okay. He'll protect me._ My mind was racing wildly.

I threw open the door with a crash, and saw Jake rise out of his bed. He swayed where he was standing, and all of a sudden I was captured by his hypnotic gaze. The background noise faded away, and the only thing I cared about on the earth was the gorgeous man standing in front of me.

I stared at him like I'd never seen him before. His beautiful hair was all cut off, so short it was almost a buzz, and his chest was bulging out much farther than I remembered. I was so captivated by this beautiful man standing in front of me that I didn't realize anyone was behind me until it was almost too late.

"BELLA!" Sam's voice rang out from the kitchen. "Get away from him RIGHT NOW!"

In response, I ran straight into Jake's arms. As his warmth surrounded me, tears started to silently roll down my cheeks. I knew that his arms were where I was supposed to be, and I would fight everyone on the reservation to stay there if I had to.

Sam came crashing through the door. "Jake, what did I tell you?"

The pure nerve of this asshole made me come up with a thousand retorts, but before I could voice any of them, Jake pulled me to one side, holding me with one arm and held the other one out like a shield. "Stop, Sam." His voice was calm but deep and husky. "She's it."

Sam's furious expression suddenly turned doubtful. "Jake.. I know you love her, but.."

_What is going on here?_ I reveled in the sensation of being all wrapped up in Jake, but I had no idea what they were talking about. _Are they scientifically evaluating how much Jake loves me?_

Jake stayed in the same position, guarding me. "Sam.. the world stopped turning."

Sam froze, a dumbfounded expression on his face. I stood there dumbly, waiting, as a grin slowly spread over Sam's face. "Well, Bella.. welcome to the family!" He motioned to Billy. "I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about."

I had no idea what had just happened, but as Billy and Sam left the room grinning, Jacob spun me around. "You're going to be spending a lot more time with me, Bells" His husky whisper made my head spin.

"I wouldn't want anything else." I melted against him, and we sunk back onto the bed.

_Good things come to those who wait._ I smiled against his chest, drifting off to a comfortable sleep for the first time since I could remember. The questions could wait until later. _Right now, I am happy._

_

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_

**JPOV**

The door flew open with a crash. Bella stood there, her hair flying around her face. I stood up, and that's when the world came to a screaming halt.

I might have thought that I went deaf, but I could hear myself and Bella breathing. I could even hear the beating of our hearts. The rhythms mingled together and sped up, and then suddenly, there was just one heartbeat. _Our heartbeat._

She stared back at me, and I noticed every detail about her as if I had never seen my best friend before. I memorized each strand of hair, the exact shade of her eyes, the perfect shape of her lips, the gentle curve of her breast. If I had any talent, at that moment I could have closed my eyes and painted an exact picture of her. I knew everything about her.

She broke the spell, running into my arms. I wrapped my arms around her, feeling her tears on my chest, and a single tear rolled down my cheek as well. _Mine forever_.

The volume was suddenly turned up on my life, and I noticed Sam was standing in the doorway yelling at me. I knew why, but I turned, shielding the one thing that mattered from the anger pouring in. I held my arm up to stop Sam.

"Stop, Sam." I searched for the words to explain. "She's _it._"

I saw the doubt flicker in his eyes. "Jake.. I know you love her.."

I cut him off with a shake of my head. "Sam.. the world stopped turning."

Comprehension dawned on Sam's face, and I could tell in an instant he believed me. As I stood there holding the love of my life, he started to smile. "Well, Bella, welcome to the family!" Casting a sideways look at my dad, they left the room.

Knowing how confused Bella was and how little I wanted to explain right at this moment, I spun her around to face me. "You're going to be spending a lot more time with me, Bells." My voice was rough with emotion. I winced inwardly. _You need to crank up the seduction, buddy. She's yours for life._

She sighed softly, falling into me. We laid back on the bed, and although I had just gotten up, I felt an overwhelming urge to take a nap with this beautiful girl.

She curled up against my side, almost immediately falling asleep. I watched her sleep, brushing a stray hair out of her face. Stroking the side of her face softly, I felt a stab of sympathy for Leah.

_She could never compete with this._

I smiled, pushing that thought to the back of my mind. All that mattered was right in front of me.

She inhaled suddenly, then smiled. "Jacob, my Jacob" she murmured softly in her sleep. She wrapped her arm around me, still deeply asleep.

I laid my cheek against her head and allowed myself to drift off.

_No matter what happens in the future, this is a definite. And if I have her, everything will be alright._

_

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A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted to give the imprinting the respect it deserved like I said before, there will probably be some little baby lemons in the coming chapters, so ye be warned ;) Keep reviewing, I love it!


	11. Destiny

A/N: Well, it seems like everyone seems to like my story, so I guess I'll continue it ;) Jake obviously got his girl, but don't get too comfortable. There will be danger and drama and possibly sex coming up. The story's not over yet, folks!

Also, thanks so much for the awesome reviews! It makes me feel special to read them :)

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Chapter 10- Destiny

**BPOV**

I sat on Jake's bed, staring at him. Over the past few hours, he had told me a story that only a girl with a vampire for an exboyfriend would believe. He told me how the night that I had left his house, he hadn't been sick, though he'd thought he had been.

"I wasn't lying to you, Bells." His deep voice was reassuringly truthful. "When I came in the house that night, I told Billy I was dying." He chuckled, although I frowned.

_Jake can't ever die._ I shook my head, dispelling the thought. _Just have fun and live in the moment for once, Bella._

He continued to tell me about his transition from sweet little Jacob to Jake (my incredibly gorgeous boyfriend) the … _wolf._

He told me all about Sam and his pack. Although I initially rolled my eyes and turned away, he gave me a little puppydog look, making his eyes large and thrusting out his lower lip, and I decided to pay attention. _He could really get me to do anything._

He told me how Sam was the first in his generation to "phase", and how he was all alone. He almost didn't make it through he experience, apparently, because he thought he was going insane.

As Jake continued to talk, I gradually lost my prejudice against Sam and his friends (formerly known as the La Push gang). I began to feel sorry for the guys. I couldn't imagine the horror of feeling like I was about to die, then suddenly sprouting a tail and four paws. I, for some reason had a fairly easy time accepting the fact that Edward liked the taste of human blood, but I didn't think I'd be able to accept it if I routinely tuned into a wolf. I decided to be especially nice to Jake's friends.. or pack. Whatever. I'd get the terminology down eventually.

"Bells? Are you listening?" Jake peered good-naturedly down at me. I nodded enthusiastically. I knew he had been talking about Sam and the pack, I just couldn't have told you _exactly_ what he was talking about.

He looked out the window again, apparently satisfied. "Bells… there's another phenomenon associated with phasing that I need to tell you about. It involves you."

He grabbed my hands and looked into my eyes. "Bella, there's something called imprinting. It only exists in the "werewolf" world." He wiggled his pointer and middle fingers to simulate quotes. "Imprinting means that a person finds their soulmate. It happens without warning, and the best description of the feeling is to say that the world stops turning. You can't see anything but the other person, and at that moment, _they_ become your world. No matter who you're with or how you feel about your imprint before it happens, you're irrevocably in love with them from that point on."

He looked away for a moment. "That's what happened with Sam and Leah. He loved her, but it wasn't enough. When he met Emily, he just knew." Jake sighed, looking sad. "Of course he couldn't explain it to Leah; how they were together for so long and the first time he saw her cousin, he dumped her. No wonder Leah is still bitter. She still doesn't understand."

I felt tears well up in my eyes and spill down my cheeks. I couldn't help it. _I finally got what I've always wanted and someone can just take him from me?_

Jake, oblivious, continued talking. "Anyway, I just thought you should know." He caught my expression.

"Bella, honey what on earth is wrong?" He reached to wipe away my tears, and I feebly tried to bat his hand away.

"I finally can be happy.. I love you, and you love me, and then you tell me that I could lose you at any moment!" I started to really cry then. "Why does my life suck so bad?"

Jake gaped at me, and then hit himself in the forehead with his hand.

"God, Bells, I'm sorry. I left out the most important part!" I peeked up at him through my waterfall of tears.

"_You_ are my imprint!" Jake looked at me uncomfortably, clearly feeling guilty from this omission.

"That means that I will love you forever, even if I didn't want to. I don't have a choice."

He considered his statement. "Considering I've loved you willingly for a decade or so, though, it'll be nice to have an excuse." He flashed me a devilish grin. "Now Sam and the guys can get off my back for being so 'obsessed' with you. It wasn't my fault!"

Clearly feeling that he had proved his point beyond any reproach, he cuddled against me, smiling.

I gave him a watery grin and wiped my nose. _Well that explains why Billy and Sam suddenly backed off._ I could be so stupid sometimes.

Jake smiled, obviously relieved that I settled down so quickly. _I'm getting better! I don't cry for hours anymore_.

I considered this. _What a stupid thing to be smug about._

Bringing my attention back to Jake, I realized he had already moved on from my mildly hysteric episode.

"And I mean, of course you have to come. It's a pack thing, and you're part of the pack now!" Jake was chattering happily, unaware that I had only caught half of what he was saying. _I gotta catch up._ I listened more carefully.

"You probably won't get home until late, but I don't think Charlie will mind. He's been pretty used to you being down on the beach the last few weeks. Anyway, the guys get pretty pumped about their bonfires."

_Aha!_

"And you'll get to meet Emily." Jake stopped, looking momentarily uncomfortable. "Emily is Sam's imprint. Sweetest girl you'd ever want to meet." He paused again, looking more uncomfortable by the second.

"What is it, Jake?"

He fidgeted with his covers. "One time, back right after he imprinted, he lost control. Emily was standing too close." I gently took his hand and squeezed, encouraging him to continue although I was afraid of what I was going to hear.

"She has scars.. terrible scars. She's beautiful, and Sam loves her, but he'll never forgive himself." He tightened his grip on my hand. "I'm so afraid of doing that to you."

I put on a smile and tried to keep my voice from quavering. "Well then I'll just have to be on my best behavior so I don't piss you off."

Jake gazed at me for a moment with a strange expression on his face, and then grabbed me unexpectedly and pulled me close to him. "I could never hurt you, Bells" he murmured into my hair. "I love you too much."

I smiled against his warm chest. "Just don't scare me like that anymore. I don't like feeling like I'm gonna lose you to some faceless girl." I hid my face in his shoulder, willing myself not to cry again.

He tickled my ribs lightly. "Sure, sure." He chuckled, and then leaned back so he could see my face. "You'd better get going if you expect Charlie to be okay with you coming back here tonight. Go check in with him."

I nodded. We sat for another moment, staring at each other. _I really don't want to leave him_.

Assuring myself that I'd be back soon, I kissed him lightly and left his room.

As I passed through the kitchen, Billy wheeled himself over until he was in between me and the door.

"I'm sorry for all of the unpleasantries, Bella. I hope you understand now why we had to be so careful." He extended his broad hand, imploring me to take it.

I took his hand and smiled. "Thanks, Billy. I understand."

Billy grinned broadly and spread his hands. "Welcome to the family!"

An hour later, I hopped out of the shower and headed into my room where the next 15 minutes involved an intense scrutiny of my closet.

Intellectually, I knew that he loved me forever, whether I got ugly, fat, or just wore sweatpants all the time. The girly side of me, though, wanted to be _irresistible._

With a thrill of excitement and possibly something else, I realized that I _could_ be irresistible to Jake. I didn't have to worry about him attempting to consume my blood.

Making a face, I banished that thought to the back of my mind. _Funny how Edward doesn't bring up any emotion in me anymore.. besides embarrassment for being so pathetic._

I finally settled on a fairly short and rather low cut sundress. Throwing on a bathing suit first, I carefully tied the halter on my dress and looked in the mirror. With the bikini under it, it actually looked fairly respectable. Just a girl going to a bonfire on the beach. _And seducing her boyfriend._

I headed downstairs to gauge the "Charlie factor". Charlie's reactions to most situations told me whether or not I was being ridiculous, since Charlie was usually really laid back.

He glanced up from his paper, and then went right back to it. _Good._

"Going to the beach, Bells?" He absentmindedly flipped the page of his newspaper, revealing in the process that anywhere Jake was, he was comfortable with me being.

"Yep!" I grinned. "The boys in La Push are having a bonfire, and I think we're going swimming too."

Charlie continued to read his paper. "About time you two got together." He lifted the paper slightly, not entirely hiding his smile.

I sighed.

"Billy called?"

"Yep." His head was now completely obscured by his paper, although I could see the edges of the newspaper quivering a little bit. _Charlie is laughing. _Well, I could definitely say it was a nice change to have my father like my boyfriend.

I kissed him on the top of the head, startling him. "Don't wait up for me, Dad. I'll be back late. If it's too late, I'll just crash on Billy's couch." I paused, waiting for his reaction.

He shrugged. "Okay, hun. Just don't do anything stupid. I don't need to be a grandfather… yet."

His eyes twinkled and he quickly hid behind his paper again.

_I could get used to this._

By the time I made it down to La Push, I was pretty nervous. I was excited to see Jake, but nervous about what his friends would think of me. After all, I had dated a vampire—their mortal enemy.

I was also on pins and needles about what the end of the night would bring. _When everyone else leaves… and it's just me and Jake…_

I shook my head, clearing it of inappropriate thoughts. _Let's just have fun._

I parked my truck by the beach and hopped out. Jake must have heard me coming, because he immediately started trotting over towards me.

_Welcome back, inappropriate thoughts_. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and seemed to have gotten even more muscular since I'd seen him this morning. His tan skin stretched over his chest, stomach, and I found my eyes following his muscular lines all the way down to his… strings on his swim trunks. _Bad, Bella._ I looked up to see him looking at me with a smile on his face, though his eyes were black and fathomless.

"Like what you see, Bells? Cause I certainly do…" He allowed his eyes to trail from my face down my body, and I felt heat rush from my center all the way out to my extremities.

_Oh, hello really dirty thoughts. Welcome to the party!_

His mouth came down on mine, and suddenly I was on fire. He pushed me up against the cab of my truck, wrapping his arms around my lower back and lifting me up. His lips left mine and started kissing a trail down my neck.

I moaned lightly, reveling in the sensation. _God, I never knew what I was missing…_

I opened my eyes momentarily with the intention of looking at his broad shoulders, but instead I found myself looking straight into Embry's smiling face.

"Hi, Bells!"

Never breaking contact with my neck, Jake braced me against the truck with one arm and reached the other one around to whack Embry in the face. He returned his hand to my face and continued to make his way down my neck.

"Um, Jake? I'm.. not really feeling it right now." I giggled. "Embry kind of ruined it."

He cast a scary-looking frown behind him, and then shrugged. "We have _plenty_ of time later." He winked and offered me his hand.

I felt a thrill run down my body as I took it. Thinking of "later" was almost enough to make me want to totally skip the bonfire, but something inside told me that I shouldn't rush things.

_After all, we have the rest of our lives to do whatever we want._ I felt goosebumps on my arms. _I've found the man I'll be with forever._

I came back to myself suddenly, realizing that Jake had stopped and was looking back at me.

"Coming, babe?"

I smiled and followed him down to the beach.

As it turned out, I was really glad I went. I spent most of the evening playing in the water with the boys and Jake while the elders of the tribe sat around the bonfire on the beach and told ancient stories.

Jake was more fun than he had ever been. Whether it was his new body, having good friends again, or maybe just having me for his girlfriend, he was burning more brightly than ever before as my personal sun. _How could I ever have thought of giving this up?_

As the evening wore on, it began to get a little colder. As soon as one shiver trembled itself down my body, Jake was there in a flash, wrapping his long, burning arms around me.

"Let's get out and go see what's happening with the old geezers. What do you think?"

I giggled and nodded. Picking me up, he carried me out of the water and back to my towel and clothes. I started to pull my sundress back on, hardly able to ignore Jake's smoldering gaze wandering over my body. My face flushed and I hurried to cover myself up, anxious to avoid another "Embry" episode.

As Jake and I wandered back to the bonfire, I felt a much smaller and considerably cooler hand catch my arm. "Bella?" As I turned, Jake put his arm around my shoulders.

"Bella, this is Emily."

She was beautiful, no doubt. More beautiful than Leah, or any other women I had ever seen, for that matter. Her hair was jet black, long, and silky. It framed her smooth, dark-skinned face perfectly. Her eyes were large and almond shaped, and her irises were peculiarly light; a beautiful jade green. Her full lips were positioned perfectly below her small, straight nose.

She was so perfect in her beauty that I almost didn't notice the scars. Almost, but not quite.

Three dark scars dragged down from her hairline to where her neck disappeared into her dress. The hand that was still on my arm showed the same vivid scars. It was apparent that one large swipe had done all of this damage. I suppressed a shudder and smiled simultaneously.

"It's so nice to meet you, Emily!" I pulled her close in a hug. After all, we were sisters of a sort now.

Jake squeezed my shoulder and left. Apparently I was in for some girl time.

Emily took my hand again and led me towards the bonfire, though not next to the men.

We sat down and I smiled, looking at her expectantly. _What did she have to say to me? Did she disapprove of us?_ I hardly had time to get nervous though, before her stunning face broke into a smile.

"Sam and I are so pleased that you are Jacob's imprint." She looked warmly into my eyes, and I knew she was being genuine.

"Of course Jacob would have been happy no matter who his imprint was, but he has always loved you." Her expression faltered momentarily. "I know how Sam has suffered by hurting Leah so deeply. I too have suffered. She was my closest friend, my cousin, and I have no way of telling her the truth." Her eyes glistened, but then she smiled.

"Sam and I are so very happy. I would never wish for anything else. However, you and Jacob have something that we don't. You two are the best of friends. You have a history that most imprints never have, because you were with him every step of the way." She squeezed my hands. "This is rare, Bella. The vast majority of imprints are total strangers. There are many challenges associated with being with a werewolf, but I have faith that you and Jake can make it through anything."

She looked up at the sky. "I more than anyone know of the dangers and trials that can come with loving one of the pack." She looked me in the eye with a fierce stare. "But I wouldn't change a single thing." She laid her scarred hand across mine. "Not a _single thing_."

She smiled at me again, and glanced back towards the men. "I think it's about time for me to get going. Sam looks tired. I think Jake is anxious to spend some time with you too." She winked.

"See you soon, Bella."

She got up and sauntered back to where the men were. I watched her hips swaying, and felt a surge of jealousy. _She's so perfect and she doesn't even try._ I would have tripped over 24 twigs and possibly a mushroom by then.

Warm hands wrapped around my waist, and all negative thoughts melted from my mind abruptly.

"_Jake.._" I whispered.

"How about we get out of here?" His husky voice set off little explosions in my brain. Unable to speak, I nodded dumbly.

Perhaps sensing my temporary paralysis, he scooped me up and started trotting off into the forest. He was running so fast that I couldn't tell where we were, or even how fast we were actually going. I closed my eyes. After an indeterminate amount of time, he stopped and put me down.

"Cover your eyes, Bells."

He took my hands and led me forward. I faithfully kept my eyes closed and followed him. After an eternity, he freed my hands. "_Open your eyes_."

I gasped. We were in the same little meadow we had our picnic in when we rode the motorcycles, only it didn't look the same. He had strung lights around the outside of the tiny clearing, and right in the middle, there was some kind of tent made of a gauzy, light material. It wasn't a tent so much as it was a piece of fabric draped over some branches, but the effect was achieved. We had our own private little piece of heaven. As we neared the tent, I saw rose petals scattered, and heard the gentle hum of a generator. _He had thought of everything._

I turned to Jake, tears welling in my eyes. It was so beautiful, I could hardly believe it was all for me. He beckoned toward the tent, looking deeply into my eyes with a smoldering gaze.

_This was going to be quite a night._

_

* * *

  
_

**JPOV**

I was rudely awoken by my own snoring. _Man, that's embarrassing_. I looked over at Bella, to make sure I hadn't woken her up as well. Luckily, the girl could probably sleep through an earthquake. She stirred slightly, frowning gently in her sleep.

_Ahh, she's so beautiful. I could stare at her all day._

All day wasn't going to happen though. We got to take our little nap, but there was a lot of things that needed discussed before the bonfire this evening.

The bonfire, though it would hopefully seem innocent to Bella, was in honor of us. The pack had gotten the news that I had imprinted, and everyone either wanted to meet Bella or just congratulate me. Before we went, though she had to know some things about the pack.

Unwilling to wake her, I leaned over Bella and kissed her lightly on the forehead. _Ten more minutes can't hurt._ However, my kiss was apparently enough to wake her. She opened her eyes blearily and smiled.

"My Jacob." She pulled me close to her and kissed me, tangling her fingers in my short hair. I wrapped my hand around the back of her neck and moved from her lips to her jaw. I planted small kisses up to her ear, nipping her earlobe.

She moaned gently, forcing my head back. Grabbing my shoulders, she kissed my neck softly, moving down to my bare shoulder. I dragged my hand down her back, resting it on her lower back.

Before things could get too heated, I forced myself to remember that we had some very important conversations ahead of us.

I pulled away very slowly, concentrating on the fact that we could do this anytime. '

"Bells, we need to talk."

Her eyes got large and her posture changed subtly; she became a little bit stiffer and defensive-looking.

"It's nothing bad, honey. I just want you to understand what's going on with me, the other guys, and with us."

She visibly relaxed and leaned forward. "I'm listening."

Over the course of the next few hours, I launched into a thorough explanation of phasing, the history of wolves in La Push, Sam and the pack, everything. She sat wide-eyed, listening to my explanation. She unhesitatingly accepted all of my stories, and even found it within herself to listen when I talked about Sam. For the first time in my life, I thanked God silently that she had dated Cullen before me. A normal girl wouldn't ever believe this so easily.

I looked out the window. I had come to the part I was nervous to talk about. Imprinting. I knew deep within me that since I had imprinted on her, I was everything she could ever want. That's how it worked; you became whatever the other person could ever want, and they had no way to turn you away. They loved you just as much as you loved them.

_Bella is so different though._ _What if hearing that we are "soulmates", together forever, freaks her out? I don't want to come off too strong._

I took a deep breath and decided to just go for it.

"Bells… there's another phenomenon associated with phasing that I need to tell you about. It involves you."

I took her hands, imploring her with my eyes to listen with an open mind and an open heart. "Bella, there's something called imprinting. It only exists in the "werewolf" world. Imprinting means that a person finds their soulmate. It happens without warning, and the best description of the feeling is to say that the world stops turning. You can't see anything but the other person, and at that moment, _they_ become your world. No matter who you're with or how you feel about your imprint before it happens, you're irrevocably in love with them from that point on."

I broke my gaze, staring out the window again. "That's what happened with Sam and Leah. He loved her, but it wasn't enough to overcome his imprint. It never is. When he met Emily, he just knew." I felt another pang of sympathy for Leah. I really understood how she could be so hurt by his utter infatuation with her cousin. "Of course he couldn't explain it to Leah; how they were together for so long and the first time he saw her cousin, he dumped her. No wonder Leah is still bitter. She still doesn't understand."

Not knowing how to end the story without coming out right then and telling her we were stuck together forever, I finished lamely "Anyway, I just thought you should know."

I chanced a glance at her face to see how she took it, and was horrified to find her in tears.

"Bella, honey what on earth is wrong?" I tried to wipe her tears away, and almost cried myself when she pushed me away.

"I finally can be happy.. I love you, and you love me, and then you tell me that I could lose you at any moment! Why does my life suck so bad?" She was bawling by now.

_Stupid ass Jake._ _You should have just said it to begin with._

"You are my imprint!" She looked up at me, hopefully.

"That means that I will love you forever, even if I didn't want to. I don't have a choice."

I then decided to say what I had been thinking all night. "Considering I've loved you willingly for a decade or so, though, it'll be nice to have an excuse."

I pulled her close to me, feeling guilty about making her cry, but indescribably happy that she reacted like that. _We're going to be together forever!_

Breathing a mental sigh of relief that she had obviously forgiven me, I decided to tell her about the bonfire.

"So, my pack is having a bonfire tonight. It's gonna be on La Push beach, and all of my brothers and their imprints will be there. If they have imprints. Also, Billy, and the council members, and everyone will be there. I will too, and I mean, of course you have to come. It's a pack thing, and you're part of the pack now!" I realized too late that I was babbling. I couldn't help it though, I was just so damned happy.

"You probably won't get home until late, but I don't think Charlie will mind. He's been pretty used to you being down on the beach the last few weeks. Anyway, the guys get pretty pumped about their bonfires."

I suddenly remembered who else would be there. _Emily. _

Everyone, in some way, was warned about Emily, just so they wouldn't make an ass out of themselves, upset Sam, or hurt Emily's feelings. _Now's the time._

"And you'll get to meet Emily." I couldn't hide the discomfort on my face. "Emily is Sam's imprint. Sweetest girl you'd ever want to meet." I stopped again, not knowing how to continue.

"What is it, Jake?"

I took a deep breath "One time, back right after he imprinted, he lost control. Emily was standing too close. " Bella took my hand in her soft one, wordlessly urging me to continue.

"She has scars.. terrible scars. She's beautiful, and Sam loves her, but he'll never forgive himself." I held her hand more tightly, holding myself together. "I'm so afraid of doing that to you."

Right then, Bella showed me indisputably why I love her so much. "Well then I'll just have to be on my best behavior so I don't piss you off." Though I could tell she was shaken by my story, she put on a brave smile and tried to comfort

_God I love her._ Gazing into her beautiful face, I knew we would have the happiest life together. I would practice phasing and practice controlling my temper. I would never phase around her.

"I could never hurt you, Bells." My voice was muffled by her hair. "I love you too much."

She hid her head in my shoulder and wrapped her arms around me. We stayed like that for a little. I stroked her hair and glowed inside.

I finally pushed her away gently so I could see her face. "You'd better get going if you expect Charlie to be okay with you coming back here tonight. Go check in with him."

Neither of us wanted her to leave, but we both knew she had to. She kissed me quickly, and then practically ran out the door. I was glad she did; I was seconds away from pulling her back.

I heard Billy's voice in the kitchen, and though I couldn't hear his words, I knew what he was saying.

_Welcome to the family._

I smiled and laid back on my bed. I had a lot of work to do before tonight.

I got back from the store an hour or so later, weighed down with everything I had bought for this evening: a big sheet of satiny material, twinkle lights, and roses. The rest I would borrow; a little generator, pillows, fluffy comforters, and some tent frame Sam rigged up to propose to Emily.

"I'll be back, Dad!" I ran past Billy loaded up with all of my romantic goodies.

"Son." I stopped. Billy never had to raise his voice, or even move at all. His presence and his utterance of one word were enough to stop me in my tracks.

I turned around slowly, painfully aware of what this would look like. _Heading off somewhere with sex-in-a-box supplies. Ugh._

He eyed me carefully. "Son, I know you have the best of intentions with Bella, and I know you have a long history of making good decisions." He looked intently at me.

_But…_

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm happy for you, and I'm proud of you. I am most happy to include Bella in our family at last. I'm sure you two will be happy for years to come."

I stared at Billy, temporarily struck dumb. Tears of gratitude sprung to my eyes, and I slowly approached him.

"Thanks, Dad." My voice was husky with emotion as I grasped his hand. "That means a lot to me."

He nodded, a knowing look on his face. "You'd better get going. Bella will be back down here soon for the bonfire."

I straightened up, realizing that he was right. _I still have a ton to do._

"See you at the bonfire, Dad."

A little bit later, a few miles away in an isolated meadow in the forest, I stepped back and admired my handiwork. The tent kind of looked… well, awesome. Once it got dark outside, it would be better. I had draped the gauzy material over the frame Sam had made, and it gave it a sort of ethereal Lord of the Rings charm. The twinkle lights would be awesome at night, and the cozy bed I had made inside was not only beautiful and comfortable, but a little sexy.

I tried to banish those thoughts from my head, because to be honest, I had no idea what Bella's experience level or expectations were. I really wasn't one to move fast, since I had never actually had a real girlfriend, but I definitely wanted to show Bella how much I loved… _and wanted.._ her. If that meant cuddling up under the stars and falling asleep, that was fine.

_If it means making passionate love all night long where no one can hear us moan, that's better._

_Stop it, Jake. _I shook my head to clear it. _You can't be attacking her like a wild animal. _I chuckled. _Like the wild animal you are._

By the time I had gotten back to the beach, all the guys were there. Embry ran up and gave me a huge hug, and attempted to give me a noogie. Had he not been a werewolf, the force I applied to remove his arm would have shattered it. Lucky for Embry, though, he just punched me on the shoulder and laughed, rubbing his arm.

"Well, I don't think you could have gotten any luckier, dude." His eyes sparkled with something that looked suspiciously like annoy-the-hell-out-of-Jake. "I mean no girl that hot would ever go for you normally, so good thing you got voo-doo on your side to bewitch her."

I growled and attempted a swing at his face. He danced out of the way, still laughing.

I didn't actually mind. It used to really irritate me when the guys would talk about Bella, because somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I'd never get her. Now that she was mine, though, he could be as jealous as he wanted. _Go ahead and covet my girlfriend. She won't even give you a second thought_.

When I returned to myself, I noticed that Embry had still not gone away, but his face had changed.

"Seriously, man. All jokes aside, I'm really happy for you. You've loved that girl forever, and with or without the imprint, I know you would have made her the happiest girl alive." Some of his old deviousness returned to his face, and he added, "Now you just don't have to get a prenup. She's stuck with your ass!"

I good-naturedly pushed him away, but his words had touched me. My heart swelled.

_I really have the best friends and family in the world._

I heard crunching gravel behind me and thought my heart would explode from happiness.

_And Bella…_

She stepped out of her truck, wearing the tiniest sundress I'd ever seen. _How did she get out of the house?_ That thought only lasted a fraction of a second, because in the next moment I was running to her.

She stared at me with her mouth open. I wasn't wearing a shirt, and was pretty pleased with the way my monster muscles were coming along. I once suggested to Sam that we should bottle our blood and sell it to guys trying to get big. He rolled his eyes and made a dry comment about having more werewolves running around.

As she examined me, I looked down her body as well. "Like what you see? Cause I certainly do…"

And I really did. She was so small and delicate, but everything about her was perfect. Her creamy skin was flawless, her breasts so small and perky, her ass so tight. _Aw, shit._

Before I could stop myself, I was pushing her up against the cab of her truck, ravaging her mouth with mine. I half expected her to push me away; I mean half of the pack was probably watching, but she didn't. Catching me off guard, she grabbed handfuls of my hair and pulled me closer to her.

As heavenly and consuming as our steamy makeout session was, I couldn't help but notice someone approaching. As I took a break and moved down from her mouth to her neck, I sniffed.

_Embry. Sonofabitch._

Half hoping that she wouldn't notice and just keep going, I ignored him. A couple seconds later, however, she stiffened.

_Damn._

"Hi, Bells!"

_Ah, to hell with him._ Moving around to the other side of Bella's neck, I reached my hand back and swiped blindly, catching a surprised Embry in the face. Smiling to myself, I continued to move down her neck.

Except I was the only one doing anything now.

"Um, Jake? I'm.. not really feeling it right now." She blushed and giggled. "Embry kind of ruined it."

I frowned behind me at where Embry had been moments ago. _Ass. And I'm gonna make him pay for it._ Thinking better of the idea as soon as it entered my head, I shrugged. "We have _plenty_ of time later." I winked at her, thinking of the surprise awaiting her. I held out my hand for her to take it.

She stared at me. Sometimes I wondered what was going on in her mind, but recently I hadn't as much. This was partially because I knew without a doubt that she loved me, but also partially because I was getting to know her better, and I was pretty sure that the look on her face was her "why do I want his body and what would I do with it if I had it" look. Bella was clearly not used to being tempted.

I smiled, waving my outstretched hand at her.

"Coming, babe?"

I couldn't believe how much fun we had, just playing in the surf like a couple of kids. Okay, even if she was crying I still would have had fun, because my brothers were so ridiculous, and also because she looked so effing hot.

Bella in a bikini was something I had always dreamt about, but never really expected to see. It was well worth the wait.

I stayed in waist-high water or deeper most of the time, for obvious reasons, but when the sun started to go down, I saw Bella shiver lightly. I wrapped my arms around her to keep her warm and we decided it was time to get out. After all, we'd hardly spent any time with anyone who didn't act like they were still in kindergarten.

I picked her up and carried her over to the spot where we had left our dry clothes. As she toweled off and pulled on her dress, I couldn't help but stare. She blushed and pulled her sundress on more quickly. Probably a good thing, in hindsight. I was about to jump on her.

I put my arm around her and steered her back to the bonfire. We were about to sit down when I saw Emily approaching us. She put her hand on Bella's arm.

"Bella?"

Remembering that she and Bella had never met, I quickly said, "Bella, this is Emily." I had explained the situation to her before, but I didn't want her face to betray the shock I knew she would feel when she saw Emily for the first time.

After I felt confident that the two girls would be able to manage on their own, I sauntered back to the bonfire where all of the older members of the pack were sitting. Old Quil, Quil's grandfather, leaned over to me and smiled. "She's a pretty one, Jacob. You got lucky." He winked.

"I know, sir. Believe me." _No one is luckier than me._

Just then, Embry, Paul and Jared came running over, throwing sand at each other. Jared hid behind me as Paul tried to hit him.

"Enough, boys." They settled down quickly. Apparently Billy's gravelly voice inspired fear and respect in other young men besides me as well.

Jared leaned over conspiratorially, as did Embry and Paul.

"Good job, man." They all grinned at me.

"Yeah, man. She's hot, and chill as hell. Find me one, please." Embry grinned.

"Yeah except I want mine to have bigger tits. She's a little pale and flat-chested for me."

_Ah, Paul. You're a dick._

He was the only one, however, that had anything bad to say about my Bella. The rest of the guys were ecstatic for me, and some of them even seemed to take it as a personal victory against the bloodsuckers.

"After all, we stole one from them!"

I couldn't really blame them; I half hoped that someday Cullen would come back and see how happy she was with me. Maybe it would destroy him.

_Shut up, Jake. You don't want that. The Cullen clan coming back would bring about all sorts of problems that you don't want to deal with._

I glanced across the fire at Bella and Emily. Emily gave me a wink, and motioned to Sam.

_Time to go!_

I snuck over behind Bella, wrapping my arms around her. "How about we get out of here?"

She nodded, her eyes wide and glazed. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and she was breathing rapidly. _She's excited already… if only she knew what awaited her in the deep jungle_.

I picked her up and started running. I think she fell asleep at one point, but I couldn't blame her. It had been a long day, and I had been running for quite a while. When we got right outside of the meadow, I put her down, knowing she would be disoriented and couldn't possibly know where we were.

"Cover your eyes, Bells." My whisper carried in the quiet forest. I led her slowly to the meadow.

I let go of her hands and turned around, facing her.

"_Open your eyes_."

She gasped.

As she took in the scene, I watched her. Pleasure, surprise, excitement, and something a little more veiled all passed through her face. I grabbed her hand again, content that I had done a good job planning the night.

She looked at me, her eyes glistening with tears. Unable to just stand there and look at her beautiful face any longer, I pulled her towards the tent. _Our tent._

_This was going to be quite a night. _

_

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_A/N: Well, I hope you all liked it! Sorry it took so long, but it's been busy here after Christmas. Thanks for all the great reviews, keep it up, and keep telling people to read my story!! Love you all!


	12. Surprises

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! They make me happy, and I LOVE when my inbox is filled with them

I don't have anything to say about this chapter but… read and review :)

Chapter 11- Surprises

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**BPOV**

He pulled my hand gently into the makeshift tent. As the gossamer sheet grazed my skin, I felt goosebumps erupt all over my body. I looked up into Jake's dark eyes, and a fire slowly kindled in my core.

"_Bella_…" His voice was dark and heavy with longing. I felt a thrill run down my spine, and I suddenly was unable to keep my hands off of him.

I grabbed him by the back of the neck, pulling him roughly to me. He let out a low moan, closing his lips over mine. Mouths wide, our tongues fought for dominance, neither caring who won, both anxious for the aftermath of the battle. Without removing his fiery lips from mine, Jacob reached down and gently started removing my dress, pulling it up. The harsh contrast of our passionate kiss with his light touches scraping the outsides of my thighs made me want to give into my more animalistic desires.

As he got my dress up to around waist level, I jumped into him, wrapping my legs around him tightly. Looking surprised but more turned-on than before, he grabbed my ass and pushed me against himself.

I groaned in surprise and arousal, feeling his hardness pressed right between my legs. Trusting his strength to support me, I pulled my dress off and threw it out of the tent.

_God knows I won't be needing that_.

I pressed myself against him, feeling his fire surround me. I was half out of my mind with desire, making noises I'd never heard myself make. The area between my legs was burning up, and odd shivers were running up and down my spine.

Jake's eyes were black, his skin gleaming with a fine sheen of sweat. He pushed my hair out of my face with one hand, the other still supporting my weight. "I want you so bad, Bells."

I looked hard into his eyes. "I want you, Jake."

Without another word, he laid down on the blankets, trapping me underneath him. His huge, strong shoulders quivered beneath my hands as I made my way down his neck with my lips.

He groaned , lifting me up easily with one hand while supporting his weight with the other hand. With one flick of his wrist, he untied my bathing suit top and pulled it off with his teeth. As his mouth grazed my breast, I nearly screamed. I was incredibly aroused, and his slightest touch set me off.

He moved his hand slowly down my stomach, dragging his nails lightly, setting off all sorts of fireworks in my brain. He reached my bikini bottom, and began to untie it slowly. I gasped, grinding lightly against him. He was driving me crazy in a way I had never experienced before.

He paused momentarily, his eyes losing a little of their feverish heat that they'd had for the greater part of the evening. He lifted my chin, looking into my eyes with a searching expression. I looked straight back at him, wondering if I'd ever get over bow beautiful he was. After a moment, the fire returned to his eyes and he devoured my mouth with his own.

He finished untying my bottoms, casting them off into a corner of the sheer tent. The feeling of being exposed was incredibly sexy, and I pulled him closer to me, needing him more badly than ever.

He brushed his hand across my hips, and then moved down, cupping my mound, touching my pleasure center lightly with one finger. A shock rippled up my spine, warming my body. I arched towards him, wanting more.

Kissing lightly below my ear, he slipped one finger into my folds, rubbing up and down gently, his finger slippery with my juices. As I felt my brain growing fuzzy with the pleasure of it all, I pulled him hard against me, intensifying the feeling.

Jake moaned and rubbed harder, dipping his finger inside of me occasionally. Abandoning all conscious thought and self control, I threw myself against his hand, pushing as hard as I could. Feeling my desire, he inserted another finger, stretching me inside. As he pumped his fingers in and out of me, I reached down, grasping his hardness firmly with one hand. He groaned, increasing his rhythm. I felt an enormous heat growing inside of me, and suddenly I was convulsing around his fingers, crying out from the pleasure of it all.

An animalistic growl escaped him, and in the ecstasy of the aftermath I realized I was still rhythmically pulling on him. Overwhelmed by the feeling he had given me, and the wild arousal I could easily invoke in him, I moved down his body quickly, taking him into my mouth. His hot member filled my mouth, and I could feel it pulsating as I moved up and down.

I didn't know what I was doing, but apparently it was working because he was soon thrusting in and out of my mouth, brushing back my hair and groaning loudly. As I looked up his body to his face, I suddenly realized that Jacob Black was the sexiest man alive. Feverish to give him the pleasure he had given me, I worked harder, pumping him in and out of me.

He abruptly stopped me, pulling me easily up to his face. "Not yet, Bells," he breathed huskily. He moved up against me, his tip pushing against me, but not in me. He looked into my eyes one more time, an unspoken question lingering in his eyes.

I pressed my lips to his, and pushed myself onto him. We both cried out as I felt his girth slide easily into my slippery core, stretching me as far as I could go. I gasped, wrapping my arms around his neck, feeling my nails bite into his back as I held on.

Jake made an odd whimpering noise, and then started thrusting into me. The numbness left by my last climax started to fade as I felt the heat growing inside of me again, and pretty soon I was holding on for all I was worth, crying out every time he filled me again.

The heat reached a peak I couldn't contain anymore, and my pleasure spilled out, taking me with it. I felt myself contracting around him once again, and immediately felt his burning heat within me as he came with me.

Panting and sweaty, he slid off of me to lay on my side with his head on my shoulder. I stroked his short hair, lost in what had just happened.

I thought back to when I was with Edward, feeling nothing but regret at the time I had wasted on him. What Jake and I was so much more than physical, more than I had ever hoped for, but the physical part in itself was amazing. I had never been able to even make out with Edward without him stopping me, for fear of hurting me. I felt so.. _free._

Free to love who I wanted, without being tied down by Edward's perfectly tailored method of attracting females, free to do what I wanted with the one I loved.

I opened up my eyes blearily to see Jake lying on his side, looking at me through half-open eyes.

"I love you Jacob Black." I reached up to stroke his face, seeing him open his mouth to reply but never hearing his response as sleep overtook me. It didn't matter though. Jacob Black loved me, and I loved him. _Forever._

_

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_

**JPOV**

Looking at Bella Swan, I realized I couldn't spend any more time outside of that tent. I pulled her hand gently, leading her towards it. She followed me slowly, and shivered slightly as she entered the tent. I looked up and down her body, getting more turned on every second. I could see her nipples, erect under her tiny sundress.

"_Bella_…" My voice was husky and I was unable to contain how much I wanted her. I wanted her to know how badly I needed her, but I didn't want her to feel like I was forcing myself on her. Luckily, the feeling seemed to be mutual.

She turned to me with a blaze in her eyes, and grabbed me roughly, pulling me to her. As I felt her small lips press to mine, I lost most of my self control. I started pulling up her dress, savoring the feeling of my fingers against her soft thighs.

I felt goosebumps erupt on her skin and realized just in time that she was squatting slightly to jump on me. I caught her without breaking our fiery kiss, grasping her tight ass with both of my hands.

She released my neck, reaching down to pull her dress over her head. As she leaned back to throw her dress across the tent, I looked up and down her body. I groaned in desire, feeling my dick press up between her legs. She was warm and moist, and I almost threw her down on the ground and took her right there.

We stopped kissing then, both too turned on to be able to focus on one thing. She was clawing at my back lightly with her fingernails, and I was squeezing her ass, pressing firmly between her legs with my hardness.

Holding her up easily with one hand, I brushed her hair away from her face with my other one.

"I want you so bad, Bells." I didn't want to pressure her, but I couldn't help saying it. I needed her.

She locked eyes with me. "I want you too, Jake."

It wasn't her words but her eyes that told me she wanted me. That was all the permission I needed, and I easily flipped her over onto her back on the blankets, putting only a little of my weight on her.

She nipped my neck lightly, grabbing me hard behind the head and pulling her to me.

_God, Bells, where did you learn this shit?_

I lifted her up easily, quickly untying her bikini top. I kissed her neck, nipping the string of her bikini between my teeth and throwing it to the side. I felt my lip graze her hot, hard nipple, and she shuddered under me, her eyes half closing.

I stared at her beautiful body, half-lit by the twinkle lights. Her body was perfect in a way I'd never seen before; there was none of the weird jutting muscle I'd seen in some of Quil's pilfered Playboy magazines; everything about her was soft and feminine.

I traced her curves down to her bikini strings, desperate to get her bottoms off. As I dragged my fingers across her stomach to untie the last piece of clothing covering her, she froze.

Although everything in my brain (and other places) told me that she was just really turned on, my heart told me to make sure. I stopped moving, and looked into Bella's eyes once more. I searched for not just lust, but something deeper.

I found it.

There, beneath all of the sex and lust, was something soft. _She loves me. She wants me._

A surge of love and desire rushed through me, and I tore off her last shard of clothing. Bella laid on the blankets completely naked, her chest heaving.

_God she's so fucking beautiful._

I crept toward her mound with one hand, kissing her neck. As I slipped a finger inside of her, I realized she was probably just as turned on as me, which made me even more turned on.

I worked at her for a while, feeling her move with me. When I slipped another finger inside of her, she moaned and pulled me closer, bucking against my hand. She reached down to grab me, pulling on my dick, and I groaned at the sensation. I moved in and out of her furiously, watching her fierce expression through a sheen of her own sweat.

She finally got off, and I felt her walls tighten around my fingers. Her hand tightened with the same rhythm that her core was convulsing, and pretty soon I was out of control. I heard myself growling and moving against her, but I couldn't stop. I closed my eyes, savoring the sensation and wondering for another split second how she was so damn good at this.

When I opened my eyes, she wasn't in front of me anymore. A second later, a different sensation told me where she had gone.

If I hadn't been absolutely sure that you couldn't have sex with a bloodsucker, and that Cullen had been her first boyfriend, I would have probably worried that she'd been blowing guys for years. She sucked, licked, and pulled at all the right moments, and I almost came in her mouth before I realized it was gonna happen.

_Not yet, Bells._

With tremendous effort, I pulled her up to eye level again. I put most of my weight on her, the head of my dick poised at her entrance but not in. I looked into her eyes and waited for some sort of confirmation that she was ready.

It never came. She threw her arms around my neck, kissing me, and pushed herself onto me. I let out a guttural growl as I felt myself stretching her, sliding easily because of her arousal. I moved slowly, afraid of hurting her, but she tightened her grasp around my neck, scraping me with her nails, and I lost my last little shred of self control.

I braced myself against the ground, slamming into her again and again as she cried out. Sooner than either of us wanted, I felt her walls again convulsing around me, and I exploded inside of her.

I slid off of her, to the side so I wouldn't crush her with my dead weight, and we both laid still for a while, breathing hard.

I gazed at her through my half-closed eyes, while she lay next to me with her eyes closed. She was so beautiful. Her damp hair clung to her face and spilled over her shoulders, almost obscuring her breasts. Her cheeks were lightly flushed, and her lips were swollen from their night's activity.

She opened her eyes a little, smiling at me. "I love you, Jacob Black." She reached up feebly to stroke my face, but fell asleep in the middle of it, her hand collapsing on the blankets.

"I love you too, Bells." I covered her up with the extra blanket on the side of the tent and drew her to me. I kissed her hair and smelled it; strawberries and a different smell… musky and woodsy. After a moment, I realized that she smelled like me.

That thought brought me more happiness than anything yet that evening. A part of me was in her, as she was in me, and we were bound together. I lowered my head to hers again, closing my eyes and drinking in her sweet aroma. _Bella and I, Bella and I, Bella and…_

Something else. Something sweet, and sticky, and…

I laid her down gently, careful not to disturb her. Pulling on my sweatpants shorts, I crawled to the edge of the tent, scanning the treeline. All was quiet, nothing around at all. I shrugged, starting to turn around. _We did eat like 64 marshmallows a piece at the bonfire earlier._

I bent over to crawl into the tent, looking at the generator as I did, making sure it was still charged. My gaze never made it there.

Black eyes. Staring straight at me, from behind the tent.

Edward Cullen emerged from the darkness, pale as the moon and visibly furious.

"Don't take another step, mongrel. I'm here to reclaim what's mine."

* * *

A/N: Well, I hope you liked it! Please read and review, because I'm getting busier and knowing that people are reading makes me want to write more!

Also, I'm STILL in the market for a Beta, so if you are interested please please PLEASE let me know!

Finally, I'm working on a novel, like a real book, not just fanfic I write when I'm bored haha. It will be appropriate for young adults, though I'm not giving anything away about it :) if anyone has any pointers or tips on getting a book published, I would love any advice!! Thanks so much! I'll try to put in the next installment soon, I promise :)


	13. Terror

Chapter 12—Terror

* * *

**BPOV**

I stirred slightly, feeling a little cold. Opening my eyes blearily, I reached for a cover to warm me up a little and realized I may have been cold because I was somehow naked.

My eyes shot open. I wasn't in my room, I was in a satiny tent in the middle of the forest. The night's events rushed back to me… Jake taking me to the bonfire, carrying me to the middle of the forest, making love to me in this tent.. I started, sitting upright in the tent.

_Where is Jake?_

I tried to calm myself down, reassuring myself that he probably just had to pee or something. I wrapped a thin blanket around myself, shivering with the cold and the unrest that was settling on me.

"Get the hell out of here!"

I sat bolt upright, shaking with fear. I had never heard Jacob mad before, which was scary enough, but it chilled my blood to know that whatever was making him yell like that was right outside the tent. _Right on the other side of this ridiculously thin sheet_.

_Relax, Bella. It's probably just Embry sneaking around pissing him off. He loves doing that._

That thought calmed me down more than anything else. I laid back down, waiting for Jake to return.

"I don't care what she's _told_ you, or even done with you. Bella and I will be together forever, _mongrel_."

I gasped, clapping my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming. The silky smooth voice was so close, it was almost as if he was whispering in my ear.

_Edward._

He was back? I covered up my head, willing myself to wake from this nightmare. Things were perfect with Jake. I loved him, and hadn't given thought to Edward in weeks. Not only did I not miss Edward, but after spending time with the pack, I had grown in fear of him. Vampires, vegetarian or not, were dangerous.

The conversation outside rose in emotion and volume, and I covered my ears with my pillow, tears streaming silently down my cheeks. I wanted to help Jake, but not only did I not have any clothes, but I had no idea how to summon the pack.

I muffled the sound pretty well, only hearing an occasional tone, but no words.

_Please let him go away. Just please let him go away._

Through my pillow, I heard muffled thumping and yells, and I thought I was about to be sick with fear. A faint whimpering reached my ears, and I took the pillow off of my ears, desperate to hear if Jake was okay or not. I heard no more noise, except a gentle rustling that moved from the side of the tent into the forest behind me. I almost fainted with relief. _Edward is gone._

Squinting towards the entrance of the tent, I saw a dark shape approaching, stooping slightly to enter the tent. I laid back, putting my head back on the pillow, attempting to hide the intense fear I had been feeling until that moment. I felt my cover slide gently off of me. _Oh, Jake._

Flooded with relief, I sat up and threw my arms around him, meeting cold and hard shoulders.

My heart nearly stopped, and I tried to pull away. A steel grip held me in place, and a velvet voice whispered into my ear.

"Oh, Bella. I've missed you too." I felt a cold kiss land on my shoulder, and I couldn't take it anymore.

"Jake! Help me!! JAKE!!!" I was screaming at the top of my lungs, heedless of what else could be attracted in a forest by human screams. "JAAAAAKE!!!"

Edward held me more tightly, stroking my hair. "I won't hurt you, love. I'll never leave you again. You'll always be safe with me." He kissed my forehead, rubbing up and down my back with his frozen hands.

I was crying now, terrified not only for myself but for Jake. _He would never willingly allow this monster near me._ I felt Edward's caresses and touches, feeling repulsed and horrified, unable to escape from his iron grip. I couldn't believe at one point in my life I would have done anything for this half-human creature. Right now, I only felt disgust and fear.

Edward held me away from him suddenly, restraining me by a vice-like grip on my upper arms. He looked me up and down, his black eyes gleaming in the moonlight. I suddenly realized how cold his eyes were. Jacob's eyes were black at times, but they always burned with love and warmth. Edward's were empty and haunting.

"You have become.. even more irresistible." He licked his lips, letting his eyes travel from my face down my poorly concealed body, his eyes lingering on my chest. "But you have always been irresistible to me, my Bella."

Warning lights were blinking in my brain, but I couldn't stop myself from blurting out what was on my mind.

"I'm not yours!" I was shaking with fear, immediately regretting my decision to speak. His expression turned furious, and he looked momentarily evil before regaining his composure.

"I could never believe that you could love another, Bella. Jacob has told me about how you are under some sort of werewolf 'spell', but I believe that can be broken." He eyed me hungrily, sliding his hand from my upper arm to my shoulder, and then trailing down my body, squeezing my breast. Tears spilled from my eyes again because I knew I couldn't do anything to stop him.

"Maybe you feel a connection with Jacob, but you can never be a mongrel like him. But you can be like me, Bella… you wanted it before, and I know you still want it deep down." I started shaking, unable to control myself. He was going to bite me. _And then I can never be with Jacob_.

I began to cry in earnest, pleading with him. "Please, no, Edward. I don't want it anymore. I'm sorry, but I love Jacob now. I only want to be with him." Edward growled, closing his hands so tightly around my arms that I cried out.

"He won't want you when I'm done with you." He forced my head back, smelling my neck. "Sorry you can't say goodbye." I screamed, and he covered my mouth with his hand. _This is it. I love you, Jake. At least when I'm turned, I can kill Edward._

I felt a rushing around me, and collapsed onto the ground, shaking uncontrollably. There were bright lights, and I felt a searing pain on my neck. I screamed again and again, unable to control my anguish.

Unexpectedly, I wasn't cold anymore. I felt like I was wrapped in something warm and furry, and realized that I must have been turned. _Edward always used to talk about never being cold again_. He had never described it as "warm", exactly, but he had always said he was completely comfortable.

Well, I was comfortable. Other than the throbbing in my neck, and my horror at being a vampire, I was totally physically comfortable.

A sudden waft of air brought a musky and woodsy smell to me. With a surge of emotion, I realized that I was still surrounded by the blankets Jake had slept on.

_I'm sorry, Jake. I love you. I always will, even if you won't be around me anymore._

_I love you._

The darkness spun around me, and I let myself fall into unconsciousness.

* * *

**JPOV**

I stared at the filthy bloodsucker, working hard to control my temper. Phasing now would only put Bella in danger. I weighed my options carefully.

The leech was obviously pissed, and dangerous. I could fight him off, but I'd have to lead him away from the camp to protect Bella, and then what would happen if Cullen escaped? He could be back here and take her in no time.

I decided, as much as I hated the idea, that I'd have to play nice.

"I know you still love her, Cullen, but she's not 'yours' anymore. You left her here, and she and I are together now." _There, that was nice. No insults or anything._

The monster advanced a step or two. "What Bella and I have cannot be broken by some.. _mongrel dog._ Bella has loved, and always will love me. Step aside, dog. The moment she sees me, she'll be begging you to leave."

I felt rage begin to creep into my veins, but I had to control it. _Bella is most important._

"Listen, bl—Edward." I forced myself to say his name. "What you did to her was- well, it was awful. I'm sure you had your reasons, but you left her broken." I remembered her from Sam's memories, laying on the floor of the forest. "I put her back together. I love her."

I finally looked at him. "On top of that, I've imprinted on her. Imprinting is a wolf phenomenon. We love each other and our bonds can never be broken."

The bloodsucker scoffed, brushing my attempts at civility aside. "I'm sorry you've convinced yourself that you could deserve Bella, but I promise you, she'll forget about you as soon as she sees me. No werewolf voodoo could keep Bella and I apart." His black eyes narrowed. "Thanks for babysitting her while I was gone, but your services are no longer needed."

He started to move towards the opening of the tent again, and I almost exploded with rage. _This is my girl, Cullen. You'd best back the fuck off._

He laughed lightly. "You might think she's your girl, but you'd be wrong. Didn't she stop talking to you as soon as we started dating?"

I cringed inwardly at the memory. "That's what I thought." His smug expression almost sent me over the edge, but something snagged my attention. _Can he.. read my mind?_

"Of course I can. I'm not limited by the same things you are. It has its downfalls, like having to see what you did to her tonight, but don't worry. I'll fix her, dog. Now that I'm back, nothing can stop us from living happily together, not even the memory of you forcing yourself upon her."

That did it. We had made love. We both wanted it, and we both loved it.

"Get the HELL out of here!" I was shaking, trying to control myself, on the border of failing.

Cullen advanced on me slowly, with a calculating expression.

"I'll kill you if I have to, dog." His voice was soft and icy. "And if you phase too close to her, you'll hurt her. And then I'll have to do anything I can to save her." He smiled, baring his teeth.

Terror shot through me. _That was what he wanted to do? Get her alone so he can turn her into a bloodsucker?_ The thought made me shiver, which I hadn't done since I started phasing.

I stood between the tent and Cullen, my arms stretched out desperately to stop him. "Please." My voice cracked with emotion. "Please. Don't do this. If you want to talk to her, go ahead. Just don't hurt her. I love her."

I saw the attack coming in enough time to phase and counter it, but I couldn't. We were too close to the tent, and just in the act of phasing I probably would have seriously hurt the only thing that mattered to me. All I could do is brace myself.

Cullen threw me aside as easily as a rag doll, ripping three long gashes in my side. I felt my head spinning, blood running freely down my side, and I knew I had to phase and call the guys, or else something horrible was going to happen to Bella.

I phased, whimpering from the pain of it all. I was losing a lot of blood, and couldn't make it back to summon the guys.

I threw my head back and howled, hoping at least one of them would hear. If they didn't.. I didn't know what I was going to do. I was too weak to win against Cullen. The best I could do was hide outside of the tent and listen. And pray that he was bluffing.

I heard Bella whimpering and crying, the sound almost tearing me in half. I squinted through the darkness, seeing him caressing her.

I whined, trying to keep from going in there. _Bella could get hurt. You have to protect her._

The bloodsucker was whispering something to her, groping my precious girl and kissing her shoulder. She cried harder, trying to push him away. Despite my fear, I felt a surge of emotion for her. _That's my girl. I love you, Bella._

Suddenly, the mood changed. The leech stiffened and fury was rolling off of him in palpable waves. He forced her head back, hovering above her neck.

_No._ Crying out from the pain of moving, I took a running leap at the tent, snapping the supports in half and taking Cullen right off from on top of her.

We landed on the ground about 50 yards away, and he turned to me wildly. "You're done, mongrel". He grabbed me, throwing me across the meadow and snapping my leg in two. I howled wildly, not only from the pain, but also because there was no way I could get between Bella and that monster again.

Unable to watch, I turned wildly toward the forest. Four hulking shapes flew past me, led by an enormous black creature.

_The pack!_ Dizzy with relief, my eyes flew back to where Bella was laying. She was shivering on the ground alone, finally free of the monster that had been chased into the forest by my brothers.

Strengthened with hope, I limped over to where she was laying. Her neck was bleeding pretty badly, but after a glance I could tell that she had been hit by a piece of the shattered tent poles.

_He hadn't gotten her._

Unable to support my weight any longer, I curled up on the ground around her, hoping to keep her warm. My leg and side were killing me, but Bella was safe and Cullen was being pursued by the most loyal and deadly wolves in the world. That was all I could ask for at this point.

Bella sighed, and her body relaxed into obvious unconsciousness. _My poor baby._

I would do whatever it took to protect her. This wasn't going to happen again.

* * *

A/N: I hope you all liked this story (and didn't stop reading it halfway through lol). Anyway, I'm getting busier and if you guys want me to continue this story, please review with ideas or comments or suggestions or whatever you want to say. I like to know that someone is reading my story and enjoying it :)

Thanks for all the reviews!


	14. Decisions

Chapter 13- Decisions

**EPOV**

I ran through the forest, faster than any filthy mongrel. I needed to get back to my family; they would have noticed I was gone by now.

Inside, I was seething with rage. I had been in that forest long before that mangy animal had brought _my_ Bella. I could smell her in that meadow, saw the setup, and I knew he'd be bringing her back.

At first, I thought she actually _wanted_ that disgusting creature to take her virginity. However, after watching him ravage her and hearing her cry out, I knew beyond any doubt that she was being raped.

I was just about to go into the tent when he emerged. _Perfect._

I broke through the forest into an enormous meadow, and I paused for a moment, putting my head in my hands. I could still see the fear in her eyes when I tried to embrace her.

_That monster inspired such fear in her, she couldn't even look at me._ He probably threatened her.

A snarl escaped me. _I will make him pay._

I ran faster than before, formulating a plan as I went. I had left Bella all those months ago to destroy Victoria, which I had, but upon returning to reclaim her, had found some dog trying to take my Bella from me.

I would take Victoria's place. I would band together her army of newborns, and bring them down upon the pack of wolves that had pursued me out of the forest. I would not fight, of course; I would protect my beloved Bella. There were no more vampires in Forks, and only my family would ever live there. No humans needed protection from us.

There was no need for the wolves any longer.

I quickened my pace. _The wolves will be gone by the end of the month._

I would make it happen.

* * *

**BPOV**

I opened my eyes slowly, aware of pain in my head and neck. _What on earth happened?_

Pain on my neck… _NO!_

My eyes shot open, and I found myself in an unfamiliar dark room, on a soft bed. Soft moonlight was streaming through the window, casting odd shadows on the wall. I lifted my hand into the light, examining it. It glowed softly in the moonlight, pale as bone.

_He turned me._

Paralyzed with fear, I covered myself up with the blankets on the unrecognizable bed, willing this whole terrifying dream to go away. The blankets were warm and smelled vaguely familiar, like bonfires and the air just before a rainstorm.

_They smell like the pack_. I started crying, tears streaming down my cheeks, dampening the bed and sheets. _I'll never be able to be with them again!_

As quickly as I had started crying, I abruptly stopped. _Vampires don't cry._

I wiped my eyes, more confused than ever. I distinctly remembered E—_him_ biting me. I couldn't think of his name anymore. It scared me too much.

I pulled a pillow over my head, wondering where I was and _what_ I was.

The door opened slowly, startling me out of my miserable reverie. A hulking form appeared in the doorway, and I squeezed myself as far as possible into the crack between the bed and the wall. The figure advanced slowly, as if not to wake me, and I heard myself begin to whimper with fear. I couldn't help it.

"Oh, honey, please don't cry." _Jacob!_

He quickened his movements, though they appeared to be constricted. He reached the bed finally, wrapping his enormous arms around me and pulling me to his strong chest. "Baby, don't cry. You're safe now. I've got you."

Lightheaded with relief, I breathed in his musky scent, painfully aware that at any moment he could notice a transition in me and back away as quickly as possible.

The thought terrified me, and I started crying again. I sobbed in near-hysterics into Jake's shirt, my whole body shaking.

"Bells, honey. Tell me what's wrong!" Jake looked at me, his dark eyes heavy with concern.

I quavered, afraid to tell him. _He deserves the truth, Bella._

"Jake… Edward.. I think he.. bit me!" I cried harder, unable to go on. This was the point in the story where he threw me against the wall and ran away.

_Wrong again._

He pulled me closer, stroking my hair and murmuring softly. "No, baby. You got scraped a little bit, but I got him off you. You're one hundred percent human." He held me away from him, looking intently into my eyes again. "I know you probably don't believe me, so let's go look in the mirror."

He tugged on my hand, then seemed to realize I was pretty much useless for the time being. He lifted me into his arms, and we slowly made it across the room. He flicked the light on.

In front of me, there was a full-length mirror. I saw Jake first, tall, muscular, and beautiful, holding up this little ugly limp thing. I stared at myself, unable to believe I was actually looking at a reflection.

I was pale, paler than I had ever been before, but not the beautiful alabaster of the Cullens. My eyes were red and puffy, and my neck had a large scratch across it. I looked wimpy and puffy and scraggly and.. human. Not incandescently beautiful, not inhumanly lithe.

My heart swelled, and for the first time in my life, I rejoiced at being plain. _I'm still human!_

I threw my arms around Jacob's neck, elated. He grinned, pulling me closer and kissing me on the neck. "No one will ever hurt you, Bells. I promise." I looked into his eyes, trying to convey to him just how much I loved him.

"I believe you."

I looked in the mirror again, hardly daring to believe that I was, for the most part, totally unharmed. I looked at Jake again, finding new wonder in his absolute beauty. His full lips, broad shoulders, tight waist, long legs…

I gasped. His right leg was in a long brace. "Oh my god Jake, are you okay?"

Jake gave me a tight smile. "I'll be fine by the end of the day." He shrugged. "Occupational hazard."

I clung to him, feeling guilty for putting him in harm's way, but so grateful for how safe he was now.

After a moment or two, Jake gently set me down on the bed. "Honey.. can we talk about last night?"

I nodded. "What happened, Jake?"

Jake took a deep breath. "If you get scared or don't want to hear this, just let me know. I think you need to know what's going on though."

I nodded again. "Please tell me everything."

Jake took my hand. "Edward was watching last night. The pack has reason to believe he saw.. _everything_ that happened. This could be why he reacted so violently."

I cringed momentarily at the fact that the pack knew what could happened. Shaking my head to clear it, I motioned for him to continue.

"I heard a sound and went outside. I tried to calm him, Bella. You have to believe me. Even when he was angry, I was afraid to phase for fear of hurting you." He put his head in his hands. "I ended up hurting you more by not taking him out when I could have."

Realizing that he needed a moment, I waited. After a couple seconds, he composed himself and looked at me again.

"He knocked me out of the way, hurting my side. I phased then, calling the pack but I was too worried about hurting you to go in there. I was afraid he'd freak out and end up hurting you. I waited outside, and swore to myself that if it looked like he was going to hurt you in any way, I would intervene. I was hoping the pack would get there first." He shifted his weight. "Unfortunately, it started to look like the bastard was going to hurt you. I jumped on him, pulling him off of you, but breaking the tent apart. That's how you got your cut." He brushed my neck lightly. "I'm so sorry."

I shook my head, wide-eyed with fear. "I don't blame you, Jake. You saved my life."

He nodded, though he didn't look convinced. "Anyway, he threw me out of the way after that. That's when he broke my leg. I couldn't get back to you, but the pack showed up then. They chased him for about fifty miles, but couldn't catch him and were forced to turn around. I wasn't able to join them." He hung his head. "I curled up around you, trying to keep you warm. When the pack got back, Sam phased and carried you here." He motioned to the room. "We're in Emily and Sam's room. We were afraid that my room would be the first place he looked if.." He broke off, unable to continue. I knew what he was thinking though.

_If he came back._ I trembled, wondering what would have happened if he returned.

As if he could read my mind, Jake pulled me close. "I'll keep you safe, babe."

He laid me back down gently, brushing the hair from my eyes. "Why don't you try to get a little more sleep, Bells?" He glanced outside. "It's still dark and you've been through a lot."

I shivered at the thought of being alone. "Will you stay with me?"

He bit his lip. " I have to meet with the pack now, but year, I'll come back."

He covered me up with a blanket. "I'll be right beside you when you wake up, I promise."

Comforted by that thought, I snuggled into Sam and Emily's bed, already drifting off.

"Love you, Jake."

"I love you too Bells."

* * *

**JPOV**

The rest of the night was horrible. The pack came back, with sour looks on their faces, informing me that they had not caught the monster.

_He ran so fast, Jake. He's faster than any of us._ Sam shook his massive shaggy head and phased.

"I'll carry her back." He motioned to Bella's prone form. "The rest of you stay phased; you'll move faster that way."

I whimpered. _I don't think I can make it back that far._ Though he wasn't phased, Sam seemed to understand my predicament.

"Emily is parked about a mile to the south in her car. Can you make it that far?"

I nodded, and started limping in the direction he had pointed. _This was going to be a long walk._

By the time I had reached the car, I was exhausted and sore. I crawled, still phased, into Emily's backseat and promptly fell asleep.

I was awoken like three and a half seconds later by Emily's gentle voice, and a small hand scratching behind my ear. _Mmmmm. That feels nice._

I lifted my head, wincing with the pain of my still broken leg, and looked out of the car. We were at Emily's house, presumably to have another meeting. _Ugh. Can't I just go to bed?_

Emily moved to the other side of the car, pushing against my rump. "Come on, Jake. You know I can't carry you." Obliging only because it was Emily, I pulled myself out of the warm backseat and trotted on three legs to their house. I went directly to Sam's room, opening a few drawers and finally finding a pair of sweats that would fit. Only then did I notice I was not the only occupant of his room.

Bella was laying in Sam and Emily's bed, so pale that for a moment I feared Cullen _had_ actually gotten to her, until I remembered that she was sleeping. _Duh._ I phased quickly, pulling on the sweats with difficulty, and started towards the bed. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned to see Sam. He shook his head, motioning towards the door. I limped after him.

"We need to fix your leg up, and then we need to talk about what happened."

I followed him into the kitchen, unprepared for the misery of the next few hours. The rez doctor, who for obvious reasons was privy to our werewolf secret, came in and strapped my leg into a brace, assuring me that it would be healed in the next day or so. _Ouch._

We spent the next hour or so going over every single little detail of the night, from start to finish. _Every detail._ If Bella wasn't bound to me for life, I was pretty sure she would have killed me for this betrayal of confidence. I had to recount my fight with the bloodsucker, and then watching him try to turn my baby.

The cherry on top of the kill-myself sundae was talking to Bella about the whole thing. She was terrified, unwilling to believe she wasn't changed into a leech. When I finally convinced her, she calmed down, but then I had to tell her what had happened. _God I hate this._

The worst part was leaving her. Sam said we had much more to talk about, and although Bella pretty much begged me to stay. I promised I'd be there when she woke up, and I was determined to. She needed me.

I returned to the kitchen, my limbs heavy with fatigue and resignation. Sam was having a quiet discussion with Jared, and I cleared my throat to make my presence known. I hate secrets.

Sam looked up. "Jake, I know you're tired and you want to be with her, but we have a lot more to talk about. We need to plan a counterattack to his next move."

Though I was tired enough to fall on the floor right then, I looked up in confusion. "How do we know what his next move is?"

Sam looked momentarily uncomfortable, and cleared his throat. "We have an informant." He moved slowly to the door, and opened it. "Could you come in, please?" His deep voice echoed into the forest.

A small figure appeared in the doorway, and all five wolves covered their noses.

_Alice._

I growled, standing up. "Sit down, Jacob." Sam's authoritative voice boomed across the room.

"But she's… she's one of them!" I could hardly form words around my anger.

"I know. Just listen to what she has to say." Sam sat down calmly, motioning Alice to start talking.

She stayed near the doorway, her clear hazel eyes surveying the room. "I know you don't trust me, and you have good reason. After I heard what Edward had done tonight, I knew the truce had been broken and I hadn't the slightest chance of convincing all of you that what he did wasn't malicious." She looked at her hands. "I'm not sure I even believe he wasn't malicious."

Her gaze focused back on the room. "You should know that, like Edward, I have a special power. I can see a person's future. It's not definite, just what they've decided to do. Edward came back tonight, furious, and left almost immediately. That's how I could tell what he wanted to do without him being able to read my mind and see that I knew." She started pacing. "Edward believes that Bella is in real danger from Jacob. I have been trying to see her future since we left, and it is all dark. This means that Bella has _decided_ to be with Jacob. If she was trying to escape, it would show that." She stopped, looking up at the ceiling. "For the life of me, I can't convince Edward of that." She began pacing again.

"Edward came back tonight, with a plan already formulated. He is going to the newborns, the new vampires who have no control over their thirst for blood." Her eyes filled with pain. "He is planning on leading them in an attack against werewolves. He believes we have no more need for you, as there is no more treaty, or dangerous vampires in the area. He of course, does not include himself in the category of dangerous vampires."

At that moment, if her eyes could have filled with tears, I believed they would have. She spoke in barely a whisper. "My family and I will join you in the fight against Edward and the newborns. We don't believe in this kind of brutality, and bringing the newborns into Forks will surely cause casualties. My family and I will be moving back into our old home, and I will update you on Edward's status when I can."

She looked straight at me. "Protect Bella, Jacob. That's what he's after. The whole war could be avoided by giving her to him, but I have no doubts he will turn her."

Her expression cleared, and she started to back towards the door. "Please accept our offer for help. The newborns, though strong and fast, are disorganized. I believe wolves would be more than adequate to bring them down. Edward though.. he's a different story. He is the strongest and fastest of us. You will need our help to.. end him." Her voice caught, and she fled the house into the forest.

Sam turned back to us, as we sat stunned. "We will, of course, accept their offer. We've seen what that Cullen can do tonight. If he has an army behind him, I don't believe we would beat him."

I nodded mutely, unwilling to believe what I had just heard.

"Jacob." I looked up at him with an unfocused gaze. "Be with Bella. Someone will have to guard her at all times. Go to her now. We'll fill you in later."

Without a word, I ran into her bedroom, climbing into bed next to her and wrapping my arms around her. She nuzzled into my arms, murmuring. "My Jacob."

My eyes filled with tears as I held her closer. _I can't lose her. I won't lose her._

I laid my head down behind her, encircling her with my arms, determined to enjoy this one last night of peace. Who knew when we'd have another?

_War is coming._

_

* * *

_A/N: Hope you liked it! Sorry if some of you didnt like the EPOV, I don't plan on having it often, and when I do, it will be short. I dont like him either. Anyway, it's gonna get tougher to write since I'm going back to school, so please be patient and keep up with the reviews! I love them!

One more thing.... I STILL need a beta :)


	15. Paranoia

A/N: Sorry for the super long delay but thanks for waiting! This story is only in BPOV.

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Chapter 14—Paranoia

**BPOV**

I sat in Jakes room, reading a book and idly toying with the corner of his sheets. I was bored to death; I hadn't left La Push in a week.

_A week. _That was exactly how long it had been since Jake had sat me down and told me what was going to happen.

I remembered the night vividly; it had been the day after Edward had almost killed both Jake and I, and I had been staying in Jake's room until the pack figured out what to do about the situation.

_Jake sat down on the bed next to me, carefully avoiding my eyes. "Bells, we need to talk. It's important."_

_I sat up on the bed, interested and a little bit worried. Since yesterday, I had been worried that Jake would say that being around me was hazardous to his health and we would have to end it. Although I knew he had imprinted on me, it didn't keep me from worrying unnecessarily._

_He looked at me. "Alice came here last night." _

_My mind froze. Could Alice be in on it too? What was she doing here? Would she ever come back? My mind ran in circles until I felt Jake's warm hand encircle mine._

"_She came with a warning, and an offer to help." Jake took a deep breath, his eyes black with clouded emotion. "Edward is gathering the newborns. He's going to attack us."_

_My mind grew hazy as I suddenly realized that I had just heard my death sentence proclaimed calmly and quietly. I swayed on the spot, falling into Jake's chest. I felt hot tears running down my face but couldn't stop them. I was going to die._

_In an uncharacteristically unsympathetic move, he pushed me back up gently into a sitting position. "I know it's hard to take, Bells, but we think we have a plan. You need to get control of yourself, though, so we can talk about it." I looked up into his eyes and saw that there was pain and concern, but also resolution. I had to pull myself together._

_After a moment, Jake seemed to be content that I was sane enough to listen, so he continued. "Alice brought us that news because she believes that with the help of her family, we can beat Edward and his army. The Cullens are willing to turn against one of their own to help us." Mixed emotions passed across his face, and I could tell that he wasn't too pleased to collaborate with vampires. "They're our best chance. Alice believes that the newborns will be strong, but undisciplined."_

_He took my hands and looked deep into my eyes. "She also believes that Edward is only doing this because he loves you. He would never hurt you, or allow the newborns to hurt you. He believes that you want to be with him, and she's foreseen that he wants to spend his life with you as a human." We shuddered simultaneously. As if I could go back to the cold granite when I have Jake._

"_We absolutely do not want you involved in the fight, but you need to be close. As long as Edward can smell you, we are planning on purposely thinking that you are in the woods, so if he tries to read our minds he will think you are in the wrong place. He would never intentionally hurt you, and I believe it will throw him off to think you are close."_

"_Here's the hardest part. With just our plan, we're never going to defeat them. We can take the newborns, no doubt, but Edward is the fastest and cleverest for centuries before him. I know its an incredible amount to ask, but at some point, I think you're going to have to have some sort of interaction with him to set him off balance." He frowned and put his head in his hands for a moment, grimacing. "I hate the idea, but Sam seems to think it's the only way. The only thing is, you can't tell us what you're going to do. For some reason he can't read your mind but he'd sniff out a trap in an instant if you let us know." He cupped my face in his huge, hot hands. "This whole thing is dangerous and maybe downright stupid, and I hate every part of it, but think of the life we'll have after its all done." He released my face and I drifted off into my own thoughts. A life without fear…_

_Jake ran his hands through his short hair, leaning back against the wall. "For now, you're on permanent La Push lockdown. You can't leave our sight, as long as Edward hasn't been heard from. We don't even have Alice right now; she ran away so he couldn't see her plan in his mind. As far as all of the school and Charlie stuff… Well, we'll figure it out."_

_He leaned over and kissed me, lingering for a second. "All we care about is your safety."_

So here I was, a week later, still sitting on his bed. By some miraculous stroke of luck (or maybe just Billy's smooth-talking skills) Charlie had actually agreed to let me move in down here ,as long as I'd live in Rachel's room and not share a bedroom with Charlie. As I found out later, the logistics of getting me a full time tutor and bodyguard were actually more difficult than convincing Charlie to let me live in La Push. Apparently the conversation went something like this:

Billy and the Pack: Charlie, we need to have a talk about Bella.

Charlie (suspiciously): And Jake?

Billy and the Pack: No, Charlie. Just Bella.

Charlie (less suspiciously): Okay, shoot.

Billy and the Pack: Apparently that Cullen boy came back last night with a gun and threatened Bella's life. Jake is really worried, and we think that since you work full-time and live God knows how far from anyone else, Bella should stay down here until the situation calms down if that's okay with you. That way someone can always have an eye on her.

Charlie: _Assorted profanity._ Cullen boy?!!?!? I'll kill him! And why would she be safer with you than with me.

Billy and the Pack: _Motions to the pack_. Big muscles.

Charlie: Ah. Yes, that's for the best. I'll do my best to find that boy and take care of him.

And that was pretty much it. Granted, I didn't really believe the dialog, since Embry and Jake reenacted it for me, but Charlie had fixed me up with a private tutor and brought all my clothes down, so I was pretty sure he was okay with the idea. He visited me once every day or two, and aside from being super bored, I felt fairly safe. In the past month or so, both Quil and Seth Clearwater had begun phasing, so Embry and Quil pretty much hung out at the house all the time when Jake wasn't there. Not only was it amusing, but having two big muscley werewolves flanking me when I went anywhere tended to put my mind at ease.

The other plus side to this situation was that I got to spend a lot of time with Jake. Although we hadn't engaged in any hanky-panky fun since last week, just spending my time with him tended to make my days brighter than they had ever been.

The low point had been being turned down by Jake after trying unsuccessfully to seduce him. I pouted a few minutes until an uncomfortably aroused Jake whined that Charlie's sole condition to me living in La Push was "no monkey business" and it wasn't fair of me to keep teasing him. Slightly mollified that he was still attracted to me, I settled for nibbling on his ear a little longer and then snuggling up beside him and watching a movie.

Amidst all the fun, there was still an underlying tension as to why the entire pack came over to Billy's for dinner every night, and why Jake, Quil, and Embry rarely if ever left my side. We still hadn't heard anything from Alice, and although Dr. Cullen stopped over every other day to make battle plans with the pack, we were basically still in the dark as to when the attack would happen and what they would do.

About a week and a half after the beginning of my house arrest, I was wandering around the house making dinner for the pack. The Cullens were coming over for dinner, all of them but Edward and Alice. It would be the first time I had seen the family since they had left, and I wasn't sure how it would go over. Awkward, for sure. The whole pack would be here for dinner, along with their enemies, who don't eat dinner.

Time crept by as I tried to keep myself busy preparing dinner, but I couldn't help worrying about the family's reaction to me, especially Rosalie. She had always had a profound dislike for me, but since it stemmed from jealousy that I had the chance to have children and I was willing to pass it up, maybe she'd be willing to forgive and forget.

Small chance of that. Moments after the Cullens showed up, Rosalie gave me a disgusted look and whispered a very audible "_This_ is who we're risking our lives for?" to Emmett. I, of course, turned bright red and offered a breadstick to the person closest to me. Carlisle. _Whoops._

The night passed amicably, with only a few "mongrel" and "bloodsucker" comments here and there. I spent most of it talking to Esme and Seth, the two who were least involved in the battle. I didn't really want to think about all the people I loved the most heading into war with soulless, inhumanly strong vampires.

By the time the vampires left, it seemed like everyone was fairly comfortable with each other, and most importantly, trusted each other. Esme gave me a big hug on her way out, whispering "I'm sorry this has to happen, Bella. We'll do all we can to protect you. We love you."

My eyes filled with tears and I just nodded, swallowing the huge lump in my throat. I was so lucky to have all these fantastic people supporting me.

Jake stayed out for some extra meeting time with the pack, but I was exhausted. I collapsed onto Rachel's bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

My dreams were riddled with war, bloodshed, and terrified faces. I hadn't had such an awful night's sleep since Jake and I started seeing each other, and I woke up in the middle of the night trembling.

My upper arms were burning, and after a few moments I realized that I wasn't trembling at all, but being shaken gently by Jake. "Bells! Wake up, baby!"

I opened my eyes to see his face taut and tense, and I sat up immediately. "What is it, Jake?"

"Embry." His voice was constricted with emotion. "We need your bed. He's injured real bad." I jumped out of bed, getting out of the way of the pack that was beginning to come through the door, carrying Embry's prone form.

Dreading the answer, I asked the question that was in the front of my mind.

"What happened, Jake?"

Leading me out of the door with shaking hands, he looked down at me. "I need to get you to Sam and Emily's." A single tear escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek, and he he wiped it away angrily.

"They're here."

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A/N: I'm so sorry for the long break, but I am thinking of some ideas and I might actually end this story in a few chapters…. We'll have to see. Please read and review, tell me if you liked it!!

Love you all!


	16. Author's Note!

Not Chapter 15 (But chapter 15 is coming up!)

This is basically just a big A/N since I have a couple of things to say.

#1 is I'M SO SORRY I haven't been writing! I know it's been close to 6 months and I am embarrassed that it has taken me this long to get my ass in gear and continue, but I'm back! I just finished my last semester at college and have graduated (woo-hoo!) and now can dedicate more time to this silly pastime of mine ;)

#2 is pretty exciting… and also another one of the reasons I haven't been writing all that much. I posted a while back that I am entering in to the real world of fiction, and so I have! I've finished my first book and am about 60 pages into my second book… and it might just be my editor's job to say so, but he believes that my books are going to do very well I hope he's right, but I won't know until August or September—I'm going to Germany for a few weeks in July and I don't want to send off proposals to agents and stuff if I won't be here to get my rejections haha. Anyway, if my book does well, and you all trust me enough to give me your mailing addresses, I will send each of you a copy when and if it is published. I'm not giving anything away plot-wise except that if you like the kind of romance and semi-science fiction found in Twilight…. You'll probably like my book. So here's hoping!

#3, and the last thing, is that don't be too hard on me this chapter.. I'm planning on writing maybe two more, but after 6 months I had to reread my entire story to get back into the Jacob/Bella feel again. I hope I don't disappoint!

Love you all!


	17. Disbelief

Chapter 15—Disbelief

A/N: So here it is, the long awaited JPOV chapter following the last one! I'm sorry it's taken so long but I hope you all enjoy it… and remember to let me know if you do!

Also, I don't own Twilight, or any of the characters. Or the song _**Airplanes**_ by B.o.B, though I'll use some lyrics ;)

_**Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars?**_

_**I could really use a wish right now …**_

Bella stared at me like I was from Mars, swaying on the spot and growing paler by the second. All of my instincts told me to scoop her up and run, but I knew deep down that he would find us.

_And not just him. Those god damn leeches he brought with him, too_.

I didn't want to think about the terror they'd bring down on Forks, not to mention La Push, if I ran away with Bella. True, Captain Sparklepants would follow her to the ends of the Earth and beyond, but not before he burnt my town to the ground. I couldn't let that happen to my pack.

_Embry._ I felt a gnawing sensation in my gut as I thought of him. Wolves tended to heal fast but… that gash in his stomach…

I felt my own stomach turned over and forced the thought to the back of my mind. Bringing my attention back to Bella, who was still looking vaguely as if a bunch of her bones had been removed; sort of gooey and flimsy.

I cupped her face with my hands, marveling for a split second at the sheer size of those beautiful eyes.

"Baby?"

She focused on me slowly, bringing a hand up to my face and stroking my cheekbone. I felt a surge of heat and passion for her and I couldn't resist pressing my lips to hers. I didn't know when I'd get a chance to do it again, and I didn't want to risk anything.

_Don't think like that, douchebag. You're going to live happily ever after._

I broke the kiss, looking deep into her eyes.

"Alice is back," I started. In fact, she'd just shown up outside the door, I could smell her sticky sweet eau-de-vampire. "She's gonna take you to Emily's, and you have to stay there, Bells. " I swallowed hard, trying to control the emotion rising within me.

"I need to know you're safe." I stared hard in to her eyes, making sure she knew how serious I was. "We're gonna take care of this bloodsucker problem and then you and I will be together."

She nodded weakly and pressed her head to my shoulder, wrapping her arms around me as tightly as she could.

"I love you Jacob."

It wasn't any more than a whisper, smothered and strangled by my clothing and her emotion, but it warmed me from the inside out, and I suddenly knew that we would beat this.

"I love you too, Bells." My voice rumbled into her hair, and I blinked furiously to stave off the tears that were trying with all their might to fall onto her head.

A sudden chill on my right side alerted me to Alice's presence, and I stepped back, forcing myself to disengage from Bella's unbreakable hold on me.

In a flash, Alice had scooped her up and she was gone. Just like that.

A searing heat on my other side caught my attention, and I turned around to face Sam.

"He's bad, Jake."

I felt my heart wrench at his words, and i grabbed his forearm to steady myself. Embry and I had been best friends for as long as I could remember, and no fucking bloodsucker was gonna steal that from me.

I looked up into Sam's eyes, not bothering to dry the tears that were welling in my eyes. He nodded solemnly.

"It's time."

We ran into the forest, a pack of wolves flanked by silver streaks of light; our mortal enemies, joined together to defeat the ultimate evil.

_Bella's death._

Suddenly, other forms began to materialize and vanish, almost too quickly to be seen, flitting from tree to tree as if it were a game. The newborns were here, and they may have been undisciplined and feral, but they were fast as hell.

With a growl and a puff of fur, Sam disappeared from my side, engaging one of the newborns. Soon, the air was rent with screaming metal and growls as our pack tore the newborns limb from limb. I dodged in and out of the fighting, occasionally lending a hand where needed, looking for Cullen.

_Bastard._ My teeth bared at the mere thought of him; I didn't know what seeing him would do to me. I only prayed I'd be able to keep my emotions under control.

The fighting suddenly escalated, and the grinding metal was peppered with pained howls. A small wolf darted out, nipping at the legs of newborns and trying to distract them long enough for the bigger wolves to get a shot.

_Seth._ I howled at him to get out of the fight, but he only had thoughts for Embry, and killing the sonofabitch newborn that tried to kill him.

I saw his small body thrown up against a tree trunk as if in slow motion, a horde of newborns descending on him. I felt my paws hit the ground as I ran faster than I had ever run in my life, watching vampire upon vampire descend on him. I knew even as I was running that I was too late.

One of the vampires was tearing at the pile, his blonde hair in disarray. As I neared, I realized that they weren't all newborns. I felt a rush of gratitude for Carlisle and his wife, fighting to save our youngest pack member.

I finally reached him, clawing as if my life depended on it, trying to save the young boy who idolized me. With an almighty roar, I ripped off the last of the newborns, finding Seth laying still at the bottom of the pile.

I howled in fury, beheading a crippled newborn with one swipe of my paw. My vision blurred, and I nosed at his side frantically to wake him up.

"Take him back to the house, Esme." Carlisle's calm voice cut through my agony. "He's still alive but he needs to get out of here."

_Still alive._ The words echoed in my head, and I nearly toppled to the ground in relief.

Almost.

Until I heard the words that nearly ended my life.

"Edward!"

I whirled around, seeing her walking into the clearing in the forest, in the midst of all the fighting. Newborns and werewolves were fighting tooth and nail against each other, blood, fur, and body parts flying everywhere, and she was walking through as if she didn't see a single thing.

"EDWARD!" Bella yelled louder, her silky hair flying around her like Medusa. I howled even louder than before, desperate to phase but afraid to for fear of being killed without my werewolf strength.

"I'm here, my love." His words, calm and quiet, rang out in the forest amidst all of the fighting, clear as if he had yelled it at the top of his lungs.

I stood stupidly in the forest, my brothers fighting for their lives around me, as she walked slowly towards him. I was standing maybe fifty feet away, stock still, as the two of them approached each other. As she came closer, I got a good look at her face, and literally felt my heart breaking.

There was tenderness, love, hope… every emotion that I had come to associate with _us_ written all over her face as she looked at him.

"I'm sorry, Edward," she whispered, as they stood mere inches apart.

He reached up and cupped her face, and I screamed in agony inside as she didn't flinch. As if alerted to my presence by my violent mental reaction, he turned a fraction of an inch and looked at me, and smirked.

_You motherfucker._

He turned back to her, and suddenly brought his face to hers in a passionate kiss. Her arms stretched around his neck pulling her close to him, reciprocating the kiss, and I lost it.

I collapsed onto the ground, my sides heaving with the inability to cry. I wanted to phase, to be vulnerable, and to be killed, but I didn't have the strength. I looked up one more time, wanting her to push him away, look repulsed, do anything!

She was staring at him with a look close to adoration, and as I let my head fall back to the ground, she leaned in to kiss him again.

_**Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars?**_

I phased back into human form, and succumbed to my misery, praying for death. Life wasn't worth living anymore.

_**I could really use a wish right now …**_

A/N: So… that's it! I'm working on the next chapter now, so hopefully that'll be up soon! I feel like my writing style has changed, so let me know what you think!

On second thought.. I might post them at the same time… you might all hate me for this chapter, haha.


	18. Crime of Passion

A/N: Well here it is, potentially the last chapter! Unless someone tells me what kind of stuff they'd like to see.. I have some ideas but I'm not sure if I can make it exciting enough to keep a fan base going!

Also, thanks for the heads up that i posted the last one twice... i'm a space cadet haha 8-)

Anyway r/r, all that good stuff, love you all!

Chapter 16—Crime of Passion.

I walked away from Emily's cabin, feeling like I was commiting treason for a large number of totally justifiable reasons.

I was betraying Jacob.

I was betraying Alice.

I was betraying everyone.

But I couldn't deny my feelings anymore. Sitting in Emily's cabin for an hour had shown me that I couldn't just sit aside and let someone I loved more than life itself be killed in the middle of a forest. I just couldn't do it, and it was my fault that he could be killed to begin with.

I had to make it right.

With just a few words to Emily, she had known that my mind couldn't be changed, and had known that all she could do to help was warn the ones she loved of what was coming. She knew she couldn't stop me, and of all people, she wouldn't. she knew the price of dangerous and unexpected love.

I walked into the forest, hearing the disgusting sounds of mutilated vampires and injured wolves from the moment I set foot on the soddy ground. I walked as one condemned, knowing that what I was doing was possibly the most heartless and heartfelt action one could possibly do.

_When would he find me?_ Edward couldn't read my mind, but I knew that he would be drawn to me from the moment I set foot in the jungle. He would be looking for me, and if I wanted to make it easy for him to find me, all I needed to do was find where the fighting was.

I suddenly broke through the heavy forest into a clearing that was a science-fiction nightmare. Grotesquely beautiful, pale as the moon, and sinuously powerful, the newborns were fighting their mortal enemies, the pack that I had come to know and love. My heart twisted as I looked at them, knowing full well that my actions could kill at least one of them.

"Edward?" My voice cracked and broke at the end, barely coming out as more than a soft question.

I took a deep breath and yelled before I could change my mind.

"EDWARD!"

I felt, rather than saw, him come into the clearing. He emerged silently and gracefully, and as he approached warily all I could concentrate on was the love that was propelling me to act as I was.

The love that couldn't be ignored, ever. Not from the first time I felt it, to when I professed it first, to when I feared it lost, until when it returned. The love for the man I knew once and for all would be spending his life for me.

Within moments, we had met each other in the clearing. He brought his hand up to my face tentatively, murmuring something softly.

"I'm sorry, Edward."

He glanced, almost imperceptibly, to my right, and without following his gaze, I knew what he was looking at. Who he was looking at. And I hoped, with all the strength of my heart, and Jacob would get through the next few moments that he was about to witness, and live long enough to forgive me.

Edward suddenly pulled my face to him, kissing me with all of his strength. I felt the coldness of his lips penetrate me as it used to, and I absorbed myself in the love I felt for the man I was going to save. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him to me, and desperately trying to convey to him how much I was in love.

We broke apart, and I looked deep into his topaz eyes, wondering briefly for the millionth time, though not recently, why he couldn't read my mind. I saw the depth of his love for me in those eyes, and knew instantly that he had no room in his head for thoughts other than his feelings for me.

I took a deep breath and pulled him to me again, pressing my lips against his once more, and reached my arms up his back, crossing my arms behind him and pulling him tightly to me.

In a sudden whirlwind of movement, I was pressed to the ground by a heavy, hairy body, and a deafening grinding sound dragged out above me, followed by dead silence, only broken by a heavy thud on the ground.

I heard a shuffle next to me and opened my eyes, pointedly not looking at where Edward had been moments before, and found myself staring into Sam's dark eyes.

He raised his eyebrows and sighed, whistling between his teeth.

"Wow, Bella. You really sold that one."

I let myself fall back onto the ground as Seth hopped off of me, wagging his tail and heading off into Jacob's direction.

_Jacob! _I sat up suddenly, but a warm hand on my shoulder restrained me.

"He'll be okay, Bella. We all just need to get back to La Push." I looked up at Sam once more and nodded. His eyes darkened with concern as they strayed after Seth.

"I'm sure he'll be okay."

His tone didn't convince me.

A/N: So there it is! What happened? Oh, who knows. Well, me, for one. And instead of actually going to sleep, I'm going to write the last chapter!


	19. Ambiguity

Chapter 17—Ambiguity

Nah, not the last chapter. 8-)

**BPOV**

So I was feeling pretty proud of myself, until I saw Jake. Not only was he injured, from phasing in the middle of a battle, but he wasn't waking up.

Absolutely refused to wake up, actually.

We had tried everything: smelling salts, cold water, hot water, slapping, literally everything, and he was still comatose.

The doctor had shrugged and said, "I'm not trying to be dramatic, but if someone doesn't want to continue living, sometimes they… just don't."

I sat by his bed for hours and hours, waiting for him to wake up. After about 7 hours, the doctor came in and said that maybe I should go home and rest for a while. I actually took a swing at him, and he scooped up all his medical supplies and left. I could hear him telling Billy on the way out that he would come back when I was gone.

I laid next to Jake on the bed, stroking his silky hair and crying silently. I knew what he had seen; had wanted him to see it, he needed to. But he was strong, and I thought he'd pull through.

A single tear dripped from the end of my nose, landing on his cheek. I wiped it away, and was suddenly overwhelmed by the futility of my sitting there. Leaning over, I whispered "I love you, Jacob Black," into his ear, and turning his lips to me, kissed him on the mouth.

Suddenly, he stirred, and woke up Cinderella-style. Overjoyed, I started crying harder, hugging him close to my chest. I had begun to worry that he actually would never wake up.

Looking incredibly disoriented, he held me to his chest for a moment before pulling me away and staring hard at me. He brought his hand up to my face slowly, and cupped my cheek with his hand.

His eyes widened in shock and all of a sudden, he threw himself into his pillow, crying harder than I had ever seen a human being cry before.

I rubbed his back and stroked the hair back from his face as he wept, hating myself for doing this to him, but knowing that in the end, it would all be okay.

_You have a lot of explaining to do, Bella Swan._

**JPOV**

I had never had such brutal nightmares. I felt like I was stuck in one of those cartoons with the creepy monsters around me, and I was screaming but couldn't wake up. Of course, there weren't actual monsters… there were just lots of vampires and vampire-Bellas, entwined in love's embrace. There were also a lot of dead werewolves, though, and I was embarrassed that my dead pack didn't destroy me as much as seeing Bella with another man did. Especially that man.

I was watching Bella call to him in the forest, when I felt a drop of rain on my cheek. I looked up, seeing stormclouds gathering, coming closer to the ground and getting ready to let loose. The stormclouds changed shape rapidly, and I began to worry that it was a tornado (in Washington?) until I recognized the shape.

I looked over at the clearing where Bella had been tearing my heart out, but she was no longer there. Under my agony I felt a blast of pure joy as I saw his face, heartbroken and crumpled. It was a mirror image of mine moments ago.

But now, the thundercloud was coming down to me, taking the form of my Bella. She touched the ground lightly, her dark grey hair streaming in the wind behind her, and stroked the side of my face with her slate-colored hand. I closed my eyes and she kissed me, and with a jolt strong enough to raise the dead, I woke up.

_It was all a dream_.

I pulled Bella to me, finding comfort in her tiny strength once again, _It was all a dream._

We rocked together, one body again, and I tried to remember what had brought us here to begin with.

_Bad idea._

I saw her and Cullen in the forest… him kissing her… her kissing him…

I drew back, bringing a hand to her face, wondering if she was real. She was.

I stared at her for a split second before my emotions got ahold of me, and I threw myself facefirst in the pillow to hide my tears from her, although I'm sure I didn't do very well, considering the waves of sobs wracking my body. I was confused, heartbroken, lost, and I wanted to die.

_Why is she even here?_

It didn't matter, she certainly wasn't gonna stay.


	20. Clarity

Chapter 18- Clarity

This could be the last chapter, I dunno yet. All I know is I like happy endings

I also really like jul5857, who is probably the best reader/reviewer/confidence boost ever!

**BPOV**

"Why did you even come back?"

The words sliced through me like a hot poker. I had known that Jake's reaction would be violent, possibly extreme, but the pain and betrayal that filled his voice still left me nearly blind with hurt.

I brushed a strand of hair back from his eyes, took a deep breath, and said a quick and silent prayer to whomever was listening that he would understand.

And then I started to talk.

I told him all about how I had been in Emily's house, filled with fear and worry that this afternoon would have been the last time I would ever see Jake. I told him how Emily had tried to calm me down, telling me that Sam had gone out plenty of times, into danger and sometimes blatantly flaunting himself in the face of death, and had always come back, sometimes a little worse for the wear, but never so bad that some homemade food and rest and relaxation couldn't fix.

She didn't understand, though. No one knew Edward's propensity for blind fury except me.

All of the werewolves were afraid he would come after me, but I knew he wouldn't. not until the "threat" was out of the way. A threat named Jacob Black.

I trusted that Jake was a strong fighter, but nothing could compare to Edward's black hatred, combined with his despair from unrequited love. He would fight to the death, unlike Jake, who had a pure heart and wanted to end the fighting so he could be with me.

I did the only thing I could do: Fool them both.

With only moments to spare, I gave Emily a synopsis of what I was going to do. Convince Edward I loved him, break Jake's heart, and while Edward was focused on me and the unspoken agony emanating from Jake, I would kiss him, at which point the werewolves could take advantage of his complete distraction and end the fight.

I knew it was risky to all involved, especially since it involved sending Seth as a messenger, and the possibility that the pack could have a moment's weakness in guarding their thoughts, allowing Jake to hear the plan and rendering it useless. If Jake had any idea, Edward would know it, and it would never work.

Emily tried to fight me for a moment, and then quit. She knew the strength of my love for Jacob; she saw it mirrored every day in her feelings for Sam, and she knew no force on heaven or Earth could stop her if she needed to save her imprint's life.

I stopped to take a breath and looked at Jake. His eyes were wide but alert, and there were no longer any tears present on his face. He looked as if I was telling him how to grow a third arm in case of emergencies, but he was clearly listening to what I had to say.

"And the rest.. well, you sort of saw." I looked down at the covers, trying not to remember the look on Jacob's face when I had appeared in the forest, calling to Edward.

I looked up suddenly, filled with the overwhelming need to make him understand.

"Jake, I never would have been able to do any of it if I hadn't been thinking of you the whole time!" I was beginning to cry, but I didn't care. "I thought of you every second of the way, from the first step I took in the forest to when I had to kiss that disgusting creature. I had to sell it, give one hundred percent, or he would have seen the doubt in my eyes. The only reason he thought I loved him was because I concentrated on how much I was in love… but with you."

I felt the hot tears coursing down my cheeks, and sniffled heavily. "I love you Jacob. And I understand if you feel betrayed and might not trust me, but you have to. I kissed him so that his mind would be focused on me instead of the thoughts of the werewolves. As soon as I kissed him, Seth jumped on me, shielding me, and Sam attacked Edward."

An unwelcome thought struck me. _I have no idea what happened to Edward._ Pushing it to the back of my mind, I focused on the most important thing in my life… the man laying on the bed next to me.

He was staring at me as if he had never seen me before, opening and closing his mouth like a fish gasping for air. Frowning heavily, he finally settled on a question.

"Seth was hurt." Well, it wasn't much of a question, but I got the gist of it.

"Not bad." I cringed inwardly at the thought of the young boy getting hurt at all. "As you've noticed, Carlisle is unusually perceptive, and also heard the message that Seth conveyed to Sam. Seth was just knocked out and got a nasty cut on his leg, and Carlisle decided to…" I paused for a moment, struggling with how to phrase it and not make Carlisle sound like a sadistic asshole. Deciding it wasn't possible, I just continued with what I was planning to say.

"Carlisle decided to milk Seth's injury so you'd get more upset and have something else distracting you in case there was a chance you'd overhear the plan. They weren't worried about Carlisle, he'd lived with Edward long enough to know how to guard his thoughts when necessary. Anyway, Esme carried Seth outside of the fighting and waited with him until he woke up, which was only about three seconds. He was fine."

I remembered how fast the rest of the newborns had gone down once the werewolves saw a way to get rid of their leader. While I was distracting Edward, the rest of the vampires had disappeared in a matter of moments, their body parts strewn across the forest.

Jacob nodded slowly, and I marveled at how quickly he seemed to be recovering not only from his injuries but the mental barrage that must have come with seeing me "betray" him. I touched his face, wondering if I would be allowed to kiss him. After kissing Edward, seeing Jacob get injured, and basically putting everyone I loved in serious danger, I wanted nothing more than to cuddle up next to Jake and have him kiss my worries away.

No such luck.

As I leaned in closer, he pulled away with a funny look on his face. I felt my heart twist as I wondered if betrayal could break an imprint. _Does he not love me anymore?_

In a move that would had been comical in any other situation, he reached up and patted me on the head.

"I love you Bells, and I can't tell you how happy I am to hear all of what you've just told me, but you stink and I don't want to kiss you until you brush your teeth."

I stared into his eyes with my mouth hanging open stupidly. He raised his eyebrows.

"I'm serious, Bells. It's the least you can do after this godforsaken day."

I got up, stumbling slightly, and ran to the bathroom at a full out sprint.

If the only thing keeping Jake and I apart was vampire-breath, I couldn't get to the bathroom soon enough.

**JPOV**

I stared at her, wondering if I was still dreaming. What she was telling me made sense in a really odd way, and I wondered for a second if maybe I had just been asleep for a really long time, she missed me, and came up with a dynamite excuse for everything that had happened.

As I looked into her eyes though, I didn't think so. All of her little actions: ignoring me, crossing her arms behind the leech's back as she kissed him, everything—added up to her having a plan.

Bella continued to talk, color rising in her cheeks, causing her to look like a blooming rose. I was starting to notice things again, like her hair tickling my elbow lightly as she hovered over me, spilling the whole story, how beautiful she looked even though she obviously hadn't slept in days, and that my leg felt like it had been run over by a Mac truck.

_Ah, who gives a shit._

Bella stopped talking, her story completely spent and I believed every word. I could see her love in her eyes and could feel it in my heart, and as she leaned forward, I closed my eyes, wanting nothing more than to taste her sweet… _Ew._

She smelled like leeches. And not just like when she gave Alice a hug, but like they had rolled her in leech juice and put her in a mason jar to pickle in it. I wrinkled my nose automatically, pulling away.

Bella noticed, looking like she had been sucker-punched. I felt super guilty for making those brown eyes look like that, but I figured it would be better to offend her a little than to puke in her mouth while making out.

"I love you Bells, and I can't tell you how happy I am to hear all of what you've just told me, but you stink and I don't want to kiss you until you brush your teeth."

She looked at me with a half-smile on her face, obviously unsure if I was joking or not. I repeated my sentiments firmly, and before I could even squeeze her hand, she darted out of the room. I heard the water running and a furious scrubbing noise reached me, and I laid my head back on the pillows, smiling so wide I thought my cheeks would split in a way I thought I never would again.

After a few moments, the door creaked open and Bella edged back into the room, looking a little shy and absolutely reeking of mint. I breathed deeply in relief and extended my hands to her, wiggling my fingers in a "come-hither" gesture.

She scurried over to me, too intent on her destination to even trip over the clothes and various trash littering my bedroom floor, and crawled into bed next to me. I could feel her heart beating a million beats a minute, and she was breathing heavily. I felt the space under my covers grow a little smaller as I pulled her half on top of me, carefully avoiding my nasty-ass leg.

She was on me in an instant, her mouth covering mine, her hands pulling me up to her face. I closed my eyes, my head spinning a little in ecstasy as she raked her fingers through my hair, desperate to get closer.

Her skin was cool on mine, and I pulled the remains of her shirt off of her, pressing her bare stomach to mine as my hands wandered towards the clasp at the back of her bra.

"Gross!"

We both started; she jumped so much she fell onto the floor, and I glared at the door that I hadn't even heard open, seeing…._Embry!_

Joy like I had never felt until today filled me as I stared at my best friend, his stomach wrapped in gauze and a thoroughly obnoxious smile plastered on his face. I tried to get up, but fell back heavily as pain from my leg seared up my body.

Bella had righted herself and was now the color of a maraschino cherry, trying desperately to cover her half-naked body with my cover.

"Embry! How are you feeling, man?" I was too happy to see him to even care that he was openly ogling Bella

Bringing his attention back to me with obvious difficulty, he shrugged. "Fine, dude. The witch-doctor fixed me up after the fight, and I guess he did an awesome job because I already don't feel like stepping in front of a train anymore."

I laughed. "Well where is Dr. Fang? I'd like to thank him!" _And maybe get some TLC for my leg… it hurts like a bitch._

Embry's expression faltered momentarily. "He's gone."

He glanced in Bella's direction, and she looked at me, nonplussed.

Embry sighed. "Sam took care of Cullen.. literally ripped him limb from limb before he even noticed. Esme gathered up the pieces and said she'd take care of them, but we're not sure what she did with them. Carlisle left about an hour ago in a real big hurry, so we're not sure what's going on. Before he left, he shook everyone's hands and said that we wouldn't be seeing him again."

I swore under my breath. Sounded like Mother Leech's non-beating heart had won her over, and she had assembled Humpty-Go-Fuck-Yourself again. My best guess was that they all together somewhere, hopefully cultivating a strong suicidal tendency in Cullen.

As I looked at Embry, broken but healing fast, I suddenly realized that I didn't care. My pack was safe, my girl loved me, and the leeches were gone, possibly for good. For some reason, I trusted the other Cullens to control Edward now that they knew his intentions, and as for the rest…

I picked up the nearest heavy object and threw it at Embry, clocking him in the side of the head with my nightstand lamp.

"I'm really excited you're alive and all, but can you get the hell out of my room? In case you didn't notice, you interrupted something."

Bella turned an even deeper shade of red than she had been previously, looking like she was about to explode with embarrassment.

Embry tossed me an obscene hand gesture, and with a loud "DON'T NAME THE KID AFTER ME!" vacated the room, closing the door behind him.

I reached over the side of the bed to where Bella was still sitting firmly, like a red tulip planted in the dirt, and pulled her up to me. Unsnapping her bra with a deft flick of the wrist, I cupped her perfect breasts and kissed her face.

"Now… where were we?"

She tilted her head adorably, leaning down to pepper my neck with little kisses and nibbles.

"Here," she whispered.

I tilted my head back, groaning in bliss. I had my girl and she had me. We loved each other, and we were both safe, and that was enough.

The rest could wait.

A/N: Well, that might be it! I'm thinking of someday adding on to this since Edward isn't actually dead (I felt bad killing him.. he's so pathetic and I hate his character but it didn't feel right.) but I don't know yet. Anyway thank you all so much for reading and if you have any plot twists that you really want to see…. Let me know!

I'll update when I get any sort of news about the book and at some point I'll tell you the title and a brief teaser ;)

Love you all!

-Ellie


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